Kilo-Nine
by RobFromTheRich
Summary: The New Republic isn't doing enough against the threat of the First Order - at least these two ace pilots think so. After flying together for years, Captain Vara Hesh, a.k.a. Kilo-Nine, and Commander Poe Dameron get the chance to join the Resistance and finally make a difference in the Galaxy. TFA spoilers! [Poe, OC] with appearances by Leia, Han, Iolo Arana, and Finn.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back again with another fanfic. This time it's a series that I've been in love with since I was a kid - Star Wars. If someone doesn't like Star Wars, I don't trust them. I wrote a oneshot earlier that I basically just decided to write into a whole fic, so if you read that already, I'll be adding way more character depth, more storyline, more stuff. This first chapter is just a start to what I hope will be a great fic that I'm already proud of. I will be taking from the new movie as well as Before the Awakening, a book that details some of the things that led up to the events of TFA for Rey, Poe, and Finn. Here goes!**

 **As always, I only own Vara. Everything else is property of those hooligans at Disney.**

 **Chapter 1**

 **A Rescue Mission**

The virtual reality that had been added to the ship's treadmills had finally made running bearable for Vara. Usually it was boring, running in place until you didn't feel like it anymore. Today, she ran through the mountains of Hosnian Prime, her home planet. The huge, beautiful planet had managed to stay away from all of the action until it became the capital of the New Republic, which is why Vara's parents had moved there just before they had her. The pilot ran through the trees and down a path that led to a cave, a place that she had retreated to as a teenager with her kid brother.

Unfortunately, she didn't make it there. Her comm beeped loudly, shaking her out of the virtual planet and back onto the cold metal surroundings of the Resistance ship, _Echo of Hope_.

She stopped the treadmill with a wave of her hand and picked up the device, dabbing at her forehead with a towel. "Captain Hesh here." Vara was the leader of the Resistance's Red Squadron in the event that the Commander wasn't around. One of her other tasks was to keep up with the mechanics, make sure everything was flying and running okay, and she was in charge of service on the droids and astromechs.

"Meet General Organa in the command room immediately," the tinny voice echoed.

Vara jumped as if she had been physically shaken. She hopped off of the treadmill and ran, faster than she was before, down to the command center, sweaty workout clothes and all.

Blue holographic maps hovered in front of her, and she jogged through one to come face-to-face with General Leia Organa, the leader of the Resistance that Vara and her best friend had joined years ago.

"There's been a complication with the Commander's mission."

Vara, towering over the General at 5'6," clasped her hands behind her back and bowed her head. "What do you need me to do, General?"

"I need you to go to Jakku, find his droid. The First Order has gotten wind of them, and we think Dameron may have been captured."

Vara let out a deep breath. This was exactly what she was scared of when Poe told her he was headed on a classified mission.

"His droid has the map."

Vara nodded. That was the most important thing right then - getting BB-8 back and keeping the map to Skywalker safe. "I'm on it. How far are we?"

"Not far. We headed for Jakku when we heard. Your x-wing is being prepared as we speak. We can't have a big force on this, or else I would send more with you."

"I understand, General. I'm going to bring them home."

* * *

 _7 years ago_

Her helmet tucked under her arm, Vara jumped down from the X-wing. Her first flight with the other three Rapiers had gone extremely well, enough for the usually reserved young woman to whoop over the radio upon taking down her first pirate. She walked to the back of the ship, waiting patiently for her R9 droid to come back to the ground. "Good job, R9. As usual." The perfectly maintained droid whistled happily, wiggling on its wheels a little.

"Hey, kid, you did great!" a voice said from behind her. She turned to face Poe Dameron, the Rapiers' leader. Behind him trailed the BB droid that flew with him, an orange and white sphere that beeped at her a few times in Binary.

"Thanks, buddy," she said to the droid. "Thank you, Commander. It felt amazing to be up there. And I recall only being two years younger than you, sir." She was feeling particularly sassy after their patrol run through the Mirrin sector. They had found a small squadron of pirates following a freighter, and after trying to drive them off at first, they had taken a few down. The last of them had run. The cargo had not been worth facing four ace pilots for the New Republic Navy.

"I guess so, huh?" he said, a smirk on his face. "I'm glad you're with us. You're one hell of a flygirl."

"Thanks, Commander. Glad to be here."

 **A/N: So this one is short, but the next one is going to be better, I promise. We get some Poe action and more about how they met. Thanks for any follows/faves you graciously give and for any feedback you may have!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Welcome back! Chapter Two here! This one takes form events in Before the Awakening, which is a pretty cool little book. I wanted to mention that none of the stuff in Before the Storm, the oneshot that led to this story, has happened yet. That's all to come later. You'll know when it's coming :) Part II to this chapter coming soon! Maybe sooner than you'd think...Vara belongs to me but Star Wars doesn't!**

 **Chapter 2**

 **The End of Rapier Squadron, Part I**

 _1 year before the events on Jakku_

"We've been sitting here doing uneventful runs for a month. Why aren't they giving us anything else?" Iolo Arana said, swirling the drink in his hand. "What do you think, Kilo?" Before long, the Rapiers had given Vara a nickname: Kilo-9, because "she was the best to have on your side in a dogfight," Muran had said.

"They're just waiting for the right time to bring us something big," Vara replied, taking a sip of her own drink. "At least, I hope so."

Next to her, Poe sat back and crossed his legs. "They know we've been talking about the Resistance," he said quietly. "They're going to give us something big next. Keep us with them."

"Doesn't waiting around make it worse?" Iolo grumbled.

"It does for me," the fourth member of the Rapiers, Lieutenant Muran, replied. The only name he had ever given them was Muran, and that suited the Rapiers just fine.

"If it keeps going like this, I say we split. Go Resistance. At least we'd be doing something," Iolo said.

The Rapier Squadron had talked about this move for the last year or so. They were valued in the Republic, but they were all of the mind that the Republic didn't know how much of a danger the First Order really was. General Leia Organa had been trying to warn them, but most people dismissed her pleas and called her a warmonger. Something in the back of Vara's mind told her that the General was right - that the First Order was steadily, quietly growing strong enough to take back power.

"Guys, we gotta head back before our run in the morning," Poe said, glancing at his datapad. "Whose turn is it?"

"Mine," Muran said, throwing a few credits on the table. Even though there were nights where the Rapier Squadron put the parties on Coruscant to shame, they always took turns with the bill. "Let's boogie."

"What the hell is a boogie, Muran?" Iolo scoffed as they left the bar and made their way to their landspeeders.

"No clue. Heard it once on Coruscant. You hear all sorts of weird shit on that planet."

In the morning, the four pilots suited up and headed out on a run, checking the space around the Mirrin system. Their base was on Mirrin Prime, and every day they flew through the area, patrolling. For the last four weeks, there had been nothing at all wrong on every single patrol. Vara had used the extra time to upgrade her R9 unit, a red-and-white droid that was her prized possession, though some droids you could hardly call possessions. R9 was one of those, even becoming best friends with Poe's BB-8 unit. Iolo said they took after their owners.

"All wings, report in," Poe's voice came over her radio.

"Rapier Two. Everything's green, Commander," Vara sighed. The two remaining fighters checked in and Poe said something about reporting in nicely like Muran had. Vara yawned for effect.

"Bring it around to one-four-mark-four. One more loop and we're back to base."

The Squadron banked in unison, having flown together for a few years now, and Iolo went on about how long it had been since they had any action. Things were all quiet in the system, and the group of all-star pilots had grown bored. Vara interjected to correct Iolo on the time since they'd seen anything and lost herself in her thoughts for a moment. There was something coming, something big, that Vara could feel. Something was about to change, but she couldn't pin down what it was.

"Got something," Poe's voice cut through her thoughts. For the second that the radio patched through, she heard BB-8's excited chirps. The droid patched the distress call through, as choppy as it was. It would only be a moment until the little droid had coordinates for them. R9 let out a low whistle. Vara picked out that the trade vessel _Yissira Zyde_ was under attack, and that there were multiple fighters involved. All four of the Rapiers confirmed the coordinates, and Poe's voice came once again, not trying to hide the excitement.

"We're going in hot. Punch it."

They snapped out of hyperspace in front of the planet Suraz 5, locking into attack position on Poe's cue. "All Rapiers, report in."

"Rapier Two, standing by," Vara said. Even with the laughs only a few minutes ago and drinking the night before, the Squadron was all business. They were outstanding pilots and excellent fighters, and they all knew it. The group headed around the planet and accelerated towards Suraz 4, where the _Yissira Zyde_ was calling from.

"Yissira Zyde, this is Commander Poe Dameron of the Republic Navy. We have received your distress call and are en route to render assistance."

The silence that followed was unnerving. R9 whistled again, blipping out his fears in binary.

"Don't worry, R9. We'll be all right," Vara reassured, though she wasn't quite convinced herself. They rounded the planet and what they saw made her even less sure. The freighter had a massive hull breach on its starboard side, venting atmosphere. There were two shuttles pulled up along the other side, the boarding party breaking off and heading towards the damaged ship. No less than eight TIE fighters zipped away from the _Zyde_ and headed for the newly arrived X-wings.

"First Order," Poe confirmed, an edge creeping into his voice. "Break, two elements. Rapier Two, on me tight."

"On you tight, Rapier Leader," Vara responded. Iolo and Muran broke towards the shuttles, and Vara took a deep breath. When she relaxed and let her instincts work for her was when she flew her best. "Two against eight, Poe."

"Yeah, I kind of feel bad for them," he said, and they laughed before getting tangled in with the TIEs.

Poe took out the first with one shot from his laser cannons, hiking right to follow another that simply couldn't defend against the X-wing. Vara swooped down and pulled up under another, and they had taken out three of the enemy fighters in less than a minute. She served away, trying to lose the two that had come around to her tail, briefly getting a glance of her Commander and seeing that he was in the same position. She dove, corkscrewing around and blasting one of the fighters' wings with her cannons. It spun out of control and she focused on losing the second and finding the one that wasn't chasing either her or Poe. She saw a flash out of the corner of her eye and one of the shuttles exploded, the other stretching into hyperspace. The TIE fighters broke formation and turned to flee. Vara raced after them, flying over Poe and taking her third down. Another fireball told her that Poe had taken his fourth out, and there was one left, almost too far to pursue.

Vara and Poe seemed to see it at the same time. She banked towards the Zyde, which had begun to glow from its stern. Poe's voice shouted to Iolo and Muran, telling them to break away. Iolo managed to twist out of the way, but Muran wasn't quick enough before the shockwave of the freighter's hyperspace jump sheared a wing from his ship and part of its hull away.

"Eject! Muran, eject!" Poe screamed desperately. Vara could only watch as the X-wing exploded, taking their friend with it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Back again with Chapter 3! Thanks for the reviews and all the follows/favorites! Feels good to get this out there and see that people like it :)**

 **Chapter 3**

 **The End of Rapier Squadron, part II**

Vara paced the length of the barracks, ignoring R9's comforting pleas. Iolo sat on his cot, stewing while Poe talked to the Major. They were all on the same page - this needed to be dealt with, and now. That was an organized attack by the First Order, but none of the high command or the Senate seemed to realize it.

They both jumped as Poe stormed past the open barracks door towards the hangar in a flash.

"That can't have gone well," Iolo murmured.

"Give him a second," Vara said. "Let him collect his thoughts before we hound him."

"You should, Kilo. Not me."

"We're a team, Iolo. If he goes, we both go with him."

"I can't imagine that the Major is letting us go at all."

Vara sighed. "Okay. I'll talk to him. But I'm getting you before we leave," she said. Leaving the barracks and following Poe to the hangar, she felt a pang of sorrow when she saw the empty space for Muran's X-wing.

"It's a no, isn't it?"

Poe looked up to see Vara, her R9 rolling up silently behind her. He shook his head. "On Major Deso's orders."

"Him, or higher up?" she said, unconsciously hushed.

"Higher. We go up on anything other than a routine patrol, we're all looking at charges."

Vara fists clenched at her side. "So we're supposed to just sit on our hands."

"No," he said, one of his hands on his X-wing. "We're going on patrol."

Vara raced back to the barracks, her heart pounding with excitement. Poe was up to something, going up on patrol so quickly after they'd come down, but she'd let him get to it when they were out of reach of Command. "Iolo, R9, we're going up on a run. Let's go."

As soon as they were clear of Mirrin airspace, Poe patched through to the remaining Rapiers. "Rapier Two, Rapier Three, comlink your astromechs to Rapier One and upload all telemetry from the Suraz engagement to BB-8, please."

"Poe, you are slick," Vara said with a smile. "Are we doing this?"

"I'm doing this," Poe intoned. "I'm not letting you two flush your careers on a disobedience charge."

"Poe -"

"No, Vara," he interrupted. It was the first time he had called her by her name while they were in the air. "This is just recon. Everything goes well, I'll be back before Deso knows we've split up."

Vara heard BB-8 chirping over the radio again. "He have a trajectory?"

"Of course," Poe said. He paused. "This may be a wild mynock hunt," he said, the frown apparent in his voice.

"Neither Iolo or I are looking for a promotion, Rapier leader," Vara said. Iolo grunted in agreement. "Be smart and hurry back, okay?"

"You got it," he replied. The excitement was in his voice again, and Vara was glad to hear it.

"Poe?"

"Yeah, Vara?"

"May the Force be with you."

Vara pictured him smiling at her, and then he was gone.

* * *

By the time Vara and Iolo finished their patrol, Poe still hadn't returned.

"They'll be expecting us back by now," Vara said, not trying to hide the worry in her voice.

"The Major can hold it for a few more minutes," Iolo said. "We can make another loop around Prime, say we thought we caught something."

"If they try and radio him, we're screwed."

"They probably already have, Rapier Two," Iolo replied. "We'll just hang out for as long as it's not suspicious. Feel strange to be in charge? Technically, if something happened…"

"Ha!" Vara laughed. "That's pretty funny."

"You could, you know. They might give you your own someday."

Vara shook her head. "Can't I just fly with you guys forever?"

"Rapier Squadron, status," the staticky voice they were expecting finally came.

"Rapier Two here. We're finishing up our loop, Mirrin Base," Vara replied,

"Where is Rapier Leader?"

She gulped. "We're not sure, Mirrin Base." Poe had instructed them to tell Base that he left without telling them where he was going, which was, in a way, true.

"Rapier Two and Rapier Three, head back. Both of you to hangar 22. Immediately."

"That's not good," Iolo said as the voice faded out.

"Not at all."

* * *

Vara found herself pacing again, this time in a hut similar to the one she had just been in for the most important meeting of her life. General Leia Organa had stood in front of her, commending her on her flying and thanking her for having the courage to stand up to the First Order. It was like a dream, something Vara never thought would happen. She had been 'invited' to the Resistance, and excitedly accepted without even knowing what Poe had found. They didn't know themselves yet - just that there was more to what the First Order had done than stealing a freighter. She was told that Poe had come back barely intact, and she had heard the speeder pull up to the General's hut through the pouring rain just two buildings over, but she was too anxious. Vara needed to know if he was coming with her or not, even though deep down, she already knew.

The door to the hut swung open and there he stood, one of their escorts standing behind him. Poe didn't give Vara a chance to react before he swept her up in a hug, her toes leaving the ground.

"Did you meet her? Wasn't it amazing?" she asked when he put her down again.

"I did! Vara, please tell me you're coming with me."

"Of course I am, Poe."

"She told me she offered you and Iolo command of your own squadrons. Congratulations -"

"I, um," Vara started. "I actually turned that part down."

"You what?" He stared at her, stunned. "But Vara, you'd be so good at it!"

"I told her I still wanted to fly under you." She shrugged, her face turning pink.

Poe smiled slowly. "Well, I can't say that I hate _that,_ " he said.

"I think Iolo said it best. Remember that night when he had too much at the Bantha?"

Poe laughed. "He doesn't."

"He said, 'You two are two heads of one nexu.' As if that's something I want to think about."

Poe brought her into another hug. "I'm happy you're staying in my squad, Vara. I really am."

"Good, because you're not getting rid of me."

"Yeah, who's going to be my mechanic?"

"Watch it, Dameron, or I'm never fixing anything of yours again."

"Not even BB-8?" he gasped.

"Him, I'll always fix," Vara said, smirking back at him. "Come on, we have to go pack! Tell me about what you saw when you found the Zyde. What were they doing with it?"

"Well, when I dropped out of hyperspace at OR-Kappa-2272, I found three Star Destroyers, four frigates, two Maxima cruisers, and one Dissident cruiser. I think one of the destroyers was Imperial, and two of those frigates were definitely Lancers. Also, there were probably around 75 TIEs flying around." He said this as if it was something he saw every day, as if it were routine.

Vara stopped in her tracks in the rain, her mouth open in shock. "I knew I should have gone with you. I really...I can't even believe you got out of here alive!"

"Well, it's me, Vara. Plus, going into that, I wouldn't have brought you with me even if I knew. I couldn't risk you like that."

"I know it's you, but still…" She shook her head as the got back on the transport headed for the barracks. "So it was important. Whatever they took the _Zyde_ for."

"It was carrying charging arrays. High capacity. I couldn't even find the thing at first, it was so crowded there."

"So for storing and discharging energy. Why did they need that? Why protect it with so many ships?" Vara asked, mostly to herself.

"I don't know. But it's not good."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hello all! I want to thank everyone for all the reviews I've gotten! I love this feedback! Going to see The Force Awakens for the third time today! Super pumped. I'll get right to it - all of Star Wars is owned by Disney. I just made up Vara.**

 **Chapter 4**

 **On Jakku**

He crawled as far away from the downed fighter as he could, his whole body racked with pain. His rational mind told him that he was going into shock, but his irrational mind brought back a memory from years ago as he lay face down in the sand. The real world went dark as that day in the hangar on Mirrin Prime played back again.

 _Waiting for a new member was the hardest part. The Squadron had been told there was finally going to be a woman in their flight group, and Poe thought it would be refreshing. As long as she flew well, she'd fit right in. They were so anxious to meet her that they'd rushed through their flight check and prepped for the test run with her half and hour before they needed to. Muran and Iolo had gone back to the workshop to pass the time, but Poe waited patiently for her to arrive. Who else was going to greet the new Lieutenant but the Commander?_

 _Finally the personnel door to the hanger swung open, and she walked through the threshold. Her stride was long, like her legs, and her helmet rested on her hip as she walked, her lithe form wearing the orange jumpsuit remarkably well. Her hazel eyes canvassed the hangar, examining everything, taking in each detail. Her hair was tied back, brunette but when she walked through the sunlight, it took on a coppery shine, framing her pale skin beautifully. She looked a little bit nervous. Poe didn't know how he could tell, but that was his first thought. She caught his eye and smiled at him, a wide smile that made the corners of her eyes scrunch up a little._

" _Commander?" she asked, approaching him. Her voice was a medium alto, soothing. He wondered if she could sing._

" _You must be the new Lieutenant," he said, extending his hand. She shook it, her grip strong._

" _Yes, sir. Lieutenant Vara Hesh."_

" _Poe Dameron," he replied, not being able to help smiling back at her. "Well, we have everything prepped for you. This one's yours," he said, leading her over to a brand new T-85 X-wing. She gaped at it for a moment._

" _Wow. She's gorgeous," the rookie mused. Poe watched her take it all in, awed by the ship. He recognized the light in her eyes, the pure excitement at the thought of flying too much to bear. It was the same thing he felt every time he got in the cockpit, echoed in this young woman's expression._

" _Want to show me what you've got?" he asked, a sly tone to his voice._

" _I've been waiting for you to say that," she replied._

* * *

"Okay, R9. Stay with the ship and alert me if anyone, I mean _anyone,_ comes near. No one can find out we're here." Vara strapped on her pack, containing three water bottles, a spare blaster, and a scarf to make a head wrap if necessary, and checked the safety on her holstered blaster. It was sunset, and her tan leather jacket shielded her from the sun and from the quickly dropping temperatures. For a few minutes before leaving the specialty tandem X-wing, she listened to local radio broadcasts. Some reported TIE fighters, others just talked about stolen goods being trafficked in. Nothing specific came through, so Vara had to try her luck outside.

Now she just had to decide which way to walk. Niima outpost wasn't far from here, and she could barter for shelter if it came to that. Some smoke trailed into the sky a few kilometers to the West, so she started that way.

As she walked, she kept her senses alert, taking a sip from a canteen every few minutes. Hydration was the key to her body staying in top shape, and she needed every ounce for strength and focus to find Poe and BB-8. Jakku was a broad, desolate planet, and if she lost her way even a little, it could be fatal. Of course R9 was on the ship and within radio distance, but there was no knowing who was out there waiting for her.

Once she reached the source of the smoke, she wasn't terribly surprised at what she saw. There was a fin of a TIE fighter sticking up out of the sand, but just barely, as if it had been uncovered by the wind. The fact that it was smoking told her that this crash was recent, and since they said Poe had been captured by the First Order, there had definitely been activity on the desert planet. Whether this had to do with Poe or not, there was no way to tell. Vara had been warned about the quicksand in this part on the planet and didn't venture any closer to the recently sunken wreck, trying her best to observe anything she could from afar. An ejected seat with a parachute lay maybe fifty yards behind the sunken ship, but there was no sign of any stormtroopers in the area, nor any other TIE fighters, which she found extremely strange. Where there was one, there were usually at least three more.

By now, the sun was almost all the way down, and Vara wasn't about to head into the outpost in the dark. She made her way to the top of a dune near the wreck, scanning the area while taking a sip of her canteen. What she saw almost made her choke.

At the bottom of the dune, as if he had tried to crawl away from the burning fighter but had passed out instead, was Poe. Vara stumbled down the sand and fell to her knees next to him, rolling him onto his back.

"Poe? Poe, I need you to wake up. Come on, please." She poured a little water on his forehead, pressing her other hand to the side of his neck. She found a pulse, slow but still strong.

He moaned, shielding his face with his arm and instinctively reaching for his blaster with the other, which had fallen from its holster somewhere.

"Poe! Can you sit up?"

"Vara?" He opened his eyes slightly, squinting against the sun.

"Yes," she sighed with relief. "Are you hurt?"

"Sore," he groaned. "My leg. Left knee, a little."

"Okay, don't bend it." She reached for her canteen. "I have water if you can sit up." She paused. "I thought you had been captured."

He sat up, a little too fast. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the dizziness to pass. "I was. There was a stormtrooper that broke me out."

"A stormtrooper?" Vara asked incredulously.

Poe nodded. "We took a TIE fighter and started to come back, but they disabled us. Crashed here. How did you find me?"

"I listened to reports, saw there was smoke coming from over here. After walking a while, I found the crashed TIE Fighter. First dune I came over, and here you are."

"You're just so drawn to me," he coughed after a long drink of water.

Vara shook her head. "Even after you were thrown from a crashing fighter. I can't believe it."

"I flew that thing. Vara, they're so cool."

"We can discuss flying the TIE fighter later, because I definitely want to hear about that," she said. "But for now I need you to try and stand, okay? I've got to get you back to the X-wing and we have to find BB-8."

"Shit, BB-8," Poe said, hurrying to get up. He cringed when he bent his knee, and Vara propped herself underneath him.

"Slow down, Poe. We need you later, you know."

"BB-8 has the map," he groaned.

"I know. Put a little weight on your leg, make sure it can take it," she said, his arm over her shoulder. "We're going to find him. I'm taking you back to the X-wing and we're going to Niima. That's where we last heard he was seen. General Organa is monitoring everything, trust me. Do you have a comm on you?"

"No. Taken off of me when I...when I was on the First Order ship." He looked away from her, one of the first times since they'd met that he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Poe, what happened up there?"

"I'll tell you when we're safe, okay?"

"Whenever you're ready," she said softly. "How's your knee?"

"Actually, pretty okay."

"Good, because I can't carry you that far and dragging you would be a pain in the ass," Vara teased.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, smiling again. "Let's get out of here. It's cold without my jacket."

Poe settled into the secondary backwards-facing seat of the T-65 tandem X-wing, grumbling about how strange it was. "This just isn't where I sit," he said. "I've always been up front. Didn't think you'd bring a tank to come get me," he said, continuing to examine the fighter. In addition to having two seats, there was extra forward armor and another pair of engines on the ship. The specialty plasma cannons were Vara's favorite part.

"Shut it, Dameron, I'm piloting," Vara shot back. "What, did you expect me to tow a second fighter behind me? I'm probably not going to get this chance again, so I'm taking it. And I'm flying back to the ship, too," she said, pointing a finger back at him.

"Fine," he pouted.

Vara brought the fighter up and slowly headed low over the dunes. "So we're going to the outpost. It's about fifteen kilometers out. I'll land in twelve and wait to see what's going on to head in," she said, gazing up at the moon, which had already made it halfway across the sky.

"Is there enough room up there for me? It's weird back here. And cold. We could cuddle for warmth."

"Only if I sat on your lap or something."

"I wouldn't mind that," he replied slyly.

"Oh, cool it, Poe," Vara said, not without some heat in her cheeks.

R9 whistled from above them, translating loosely to " _I'm cold too!"_ but with a sassy tone that only those who knew their droids well could interpret. Vara rolled her eyes.

"Didn't think I'd get sarcasm from a droid," she grumbled.

"You've spoken to BB-8, right?" Poe laughed from the back.

That made Vara giggle, remembering all of the times that R9 and BB-8 had ganged up on the pilots. Then she remembered...the whole First Order was looking for them. The downed destroyers and AT-AT walkers nearby were all too good at reminding her that she had to be serious again. "All right, I'm bringing her down. I'd say we have about two hours until dawn."

"Are those TIEs?" Poe asked, leaning up next to her and pointing towards the outpost. Vara pulled out the binoculars and focused in on the sky above the desert settlement. There were two flying above the area, patrolling low and in circles.

"How the hell did you see that? Did you swap eyes with Iolo?" Their friend was a Keshian, which meant his eyes were developed enough to see more spectrums than a human could, like UV and infrared. "You're right. We can't go in there." Vara watched the fighters, thinking hard. Should they go back up and jump back to the Resistance ship? Or should she go in anyways and try to listen to the dwellers at the outpost? She wrestled with the decision for a minute until she remembered - she could try and tune in to the First Order comm chatter with her own device. It was better than listening to Jakku radio because the First Order would speak freely over their own comms.

"Stay here. I'm going up to fiddle with something."

"You getting techie on me again, Hesh?"

"You bet, Dameron," she said, opening the hatch and climbing onto the wing. "I'm gonna rig something up to get their comm channels. They'll be talking about it, I know it."

"I'm glad you're the smart one," Poe grumbled.

"Here. Since the hatch is open." She threw him her jacket, which was a little small for him, but he could wrap it around his shoulders. "Hand me my pack and keep an eye out."

"Yes ma'am," Poe replied. "I like this demanding side of you."

"Don't push it," she called back. When it was just the two of them, they didn't bother with military formalities or rank. They trusted each other with their lives regardless.

"I like seeing this jacket on you, you know," he said, pulling it tight around his shoulders.

"You only say that because you gave it to me," Vara joked. "But it is my favorite." She took the scarf out of the pack and wrapped it around her head and neck as R9 popped up to help her. Vara opened up the casing on her comm unit while R9 shone a flashlight to help her see the tiny parts. The droid had a small set of tools packed away somewhere on him and acted as a surgical assistant. After a minute of fiddling, she had removed a piece, flipped two wires, and opened up the channels. "Yes! Thanks, R9. Okay, listen," she said, climbing back into the cockpit. She and Poe were silent, listening to the crackle of static. Vara angled the device back and forth, trying to find the best signal.

"...the droid. They've left the planet. Plutt is saying that it was the stolen Millennium Falcon."

"Finn!" Poe exclaimed. "That's the stormtrooper that got me out!"

Vara gaped. "The Millennium Falcon? If they're telling the truth, we'll be able to find them. But so will the Order."

"We have to get back to the _Hope One_ ," Poe said, sitting back and strapping in.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Vara said, powering up the X-wing. "I'll fly away from the outpost before we head upwards. I think we've had enough TIE fighters for one day."

"We can't just go up there," Poe said. "It's suicide. They have a Star Destroyer, who knows what else at this point!"

"Flying in was okay," Vara asserted. "I came in from underneath. Slipped into the atmosphere about halfway around the planet between the equator and southern pole and flew north from there."

"And you can do that again?"

"Sure," she said, starting takeoff. "I'll be more careful, obviously, but the space was pretty dead down there. Shows you how thorough they're being. Plus they'll be pulling out now that BB-8 has left the planet."

"How are the fuel levels?" Poe asked skeptically.

"I'm over two-thirds full still. You said it yourself, this thing is a tank," she replied. "I know you're used to being in charge, but trust me, Poe, okay?" she said with a small smile.

"I know, I do trust you." She heard him sigh as she flew low over the Imperial graveyard below. "After everything in the last 24 hours, I'm just a little…uptight."

"I don't blame you," she said. "We're going to find him. Right, R9?"

The droid whistled, his tone severe. _Of course we are,_ he said.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Welcome back! #5 here! Thanks so much for the reviews and follows and favorites, you guys are the best! Once again, I own Vara but nothing else.**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Not Into Safety**

The medical staff aboard the _Hope One_ made sure to tell Poe more than once that he was lucky to be alive, let alone walk away from that crash with just a sprained knee. Vara had stayed with him while he was examined, laughing when he responded by saying they didn't know him very well. They were instructed to get some rest while they awaited further orders, so they went to eat and talk about what they had seen in the few hours they'd been apart. On their flight back to the ship, Poe had told her all about flying the TIE fighter, and Vara had admitted she was extremely jealous. He brought it up again on their walk back to the ship's quarters from the cantina.

"The acceleration, Vara. I just couldn't believe it. No wonder they get to us so fast. But they're not agile, not even close to the X-wings."

"So ours are still better."

"Oh, definitely." They stopped in front of Poe's dorm and he keyed in the combo. Vara sat in the chair in the corner and Poe sat on the bed with a grunt, pulling off his boots.

"You know I've never been in a ship with you piloting before?" he said. Vara thought for a second, and it was true. Either Poe had been the one flying or they were on a much bigger ship with a crew instead.

"Yeah, you're right, huh?"

"It made me realize how good you really are. I mean, I've seen it a bunch of times on the Mirrin runs and everything, but being there was a bit different. You made that huge thing feel like it was nothing." He smiled at her, and like always, Vara couldn't help but smile back.

"Thanks, Poe. That means a lot coming from you," Vara said, and she meant it. She felt her cheeks blush a little and examined her fingernails, suddenly interested.

There was silence in the room for a minute as the two pilots collected their thoughts, listening to absolutely nothing for the first time in days.

"Vara?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I...tell you about the destroyer? I know the General is going to want to hear it when she gets back, so I want to tell you first."

She nodded, sitting up a little. "Sure."

He looked at the floor, wringing his hands. "On the planet, I took a shot at him. Right before they captured me. He froze my blaster shot in midair and held me at the same time. Searched me, didn't find anything, put me on board."

Vara listened intently. Anything Poe observed and saw could be useful, but he was also her best friend.

"First they interrogated me. Nothing unusual, cut me a couple places, whacked me over the head once. Bad strategy, if you ask me." He paused, collecting himself again. "Then he came. Ren."

Vara's eyes widened.

"I couldn't see through his helmet. It seemed so heavy, like he didn't want anything getting through." Poe shook his head. "Up until then I hadn't said anything. I told those Officers where they could stick it. Ren was different." His hand went up to the bruised spot on his head, where the officers had hit him in their frustration. "He reached into my head. I don't know, it was like...tendrils, shuffling through my thoughts, trying to find it. I tried as hard as I could to fight it, thinking of everything but BB-8, but he's so strong with the Force, it was like trying to fight off a whole shuttle full of stormtroopers with a blaster. He found the memory of what had happened on Jakku, right before he got there. He saw me send the map with BB-8. I didn't even have to say anything."

Vara stood and went to sit next to him on the bunk. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and he leaned into her a little.

"What if we'd never joined the Resistance?" he said after a hesitation.

Vara shrugged. "We'd probably still be doing rounds in the Mirrin system. Same old, same old."

"When Ren pushed through my head, I saw everything from the last ten years or so. Before I even met you. I've almost died...what, six times?"

"Let's see, there was that third run I ever did with you, the _Zyde_ , going after the _Zyde,_ the whole thing with the _Hevurion Grace_...too many." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Were there more before I met you?"

He suppressed a smile for a moment, and then his eyes went back to their thoughtful gaze. "I just thought, what if we were still there? Not even there, but retired or something."

"Don't know," Vara said, trying to imagine it. "I can't see you not flying."

"Not me. Us." He looked at her, his dark eyes searching hers. Poe had a way of staring into someone's soul, and it always caught Vara off guard a little.

"Is there any benefit to staying safe? Being normal?"

Vara pretended to think for a second, and shook her head. "Not really. We're not into safety, are we?"

Poe gave her his signature smirk. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a persistent beeping from the comm on his belt.

"Well, that'll probably be the General."

"Yeah, go ahead and have a chat with your best friend," Vara teased. Poe had always been the General's confidant, and Vara made sure to make fun of him being teacher's pet every once in a while.

"I just did," he said, winking at her.

She followed him out of his dorm, turning towards the workshops instead. "Aww, Poe," she crooned. "I always knew it."

"What, you not gonna say you're my best friend back?" he called, walking backwards away from her.

She shot his smirk back at him and blew him a kiss. "I'll be working on the droids, best friend."

* * *

 _Day 1 with the Resistance, approximately 1 year earlier_

 _D'Qar_

The mechanical workshop in the Resistance base on D'Qar was pretty expansive, tables full of parts and tools lining the room. Vara was sitting cross-legged on the floor, an assortment of tools and diagrams laid out around her in a loose circle within arm's reach. Working on mechanical things was her safe haven, something she'd been doing since she was a child. At an early age she started taking apart computers and putting them back together, tinkering with the household droids and making them more efficient, more powerful. She had steady hands and developed an infinite amount of patience. Until, of course, Poe burst into the room, startling her into dropping the magnetic tool in her hand.

"Vara, you gotta come see this!"

The look of excitement on his face was too much for Vara. She giggled at him, closing the panel and standing up again. "What's so important for me to stop working on my droid?"

"You just have to see this. They finished our X-wings. A step backwards in generation, but these T-70s are pretty great too. Come on," he said, taking her hand and pulling her along.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming. What do you mean they finished them? I thought they were just trying to get us new ones."

"They did. I had them do something else. General Organa told me to make mine noticeable, so I had them do this," he said as they rounded the corner into the hangar. In front of them was a black X-wing with orange stripes down its side and orange panels on the wings, like nothing Vara had ever seen.

"Isn't she beautiful? My callsign is going to be Black Leader."

"Wow, Poe. She really is." Vara ran her hand down the fighter's side. The ship was stunning. It was sleek and formidable at the same time. Vara could just picture Poe in the cockpit, leading the rest of them into battle.

"And here," he said, pulling her over to the X-wing beside his own. "This one's yours. Right here." He pointed to the side of the fighter, and Vara saw a painting. "It's a -"

"Korrina," she said, a huge smile on her face. The animal was like a combination of a tiger and a wolf, long and lithe with the teeth, claws, and hunting ability of both. The painting was of its huge head, ears pinned back, lips pulled back from its canines in a snarl.

Poe nodded. "My father told me about one he saw on the forest moon of Endor. Seemed just like you. A natural hunter, vicious, terrifyingly beautiful."

"I'm not terrifyingly beautiful," Vara scoffed. "Just terrifying." She touched the painting in awe.

"If you say so," he said, shaking his head a little. "There's one on the other side too. Same shade as mine," he said proudly.

"Poe, it's awesome," Vara said, hugging him tightly. "I'm so excited to fly it!"

"Let's take them for a test run!" They were like kids who had just gotten new toys. Sometimes nothing else mattered in the world but flying.

"You read my mind," Vara laughed. "I'm going to go change!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Welcome back! This chapter is one of my favorites so far. I'm also in the process of putting together a playlist for Poe and Vara on spotify, so when I finalize that, I'll give you guys that track list :) Onward!**

 **Chapter 6**

 **Dogfight**

 _6 months before the events on Jakku_

Vara and Iolo waited for Poe in his quarters aboard the _Hope One_ , both very intrigued. He had said that he had an opportunity for them, and he wanted the three of them to be alone when he presented it. This, Vara knew, was going to be good.

Poe entered the room, his lips pursed, his expression neutral. "Hi, guys. Haven't seen you in a while, Iolo."

"That's what's happens when you have your own squad," he said. "Still don't know why you didn't take Stiletto squad, Kilo-Nine."

"Not for me," she said with a shrug, just like she told everyone else. "I'm fine with being a Captain _in_ a squad, not necessarily of my own."

"Okay." Poe grabbed a chair and flipped it backwards before sitting down. "The General brought this to me as a request, not an order. This is a voluntary mission. You want to take a pass, it will definitely not be held against you. I will probably think more highly of you if you do pass." This, both of the Captains knew, was probably not true. "It's verging on crazy. Entirely unofficial."

Vara leaned back in her own chair, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I love it when he talks like this. It's always something good when he starts this way."

"Is this like talking dirty to you?" Iolo asked.

"Almost better."

"You won't be able to hear it if I can't keep going," Poe interjected, his eyebrows raised. "Though now I have some valuable information for later."

"Sir, yes sir!" Vara barked, sitting up and snapping off a salute. She knew this would make Poe laugh, and she was right. It broke the nervousness in his face.

"Want to show them, BB-8?" Poe said, and the droid beeped before projecting the images from the General's briefing, including the schematics for the _Hevurion Grace_ , which was a _Pinnacle_ \- class luxury yacht, photos of both the ship and its owner, one Senator Ro-Kiintor. Poe explained what they were looking at and why: the senator was suspected of being in league with the First Order. He'd been making random and frequent trips to the "peaceful" space between that of the Republic and the Order, delaying or completely dismissing proposals to give funds and benefits to the Republic Navy, large amounts of funds being transferred to third party affiliates and to unknown sources from there. Their objective was to steal the ship without harming the Senator or anyone on board.

"It all points to the Order, but there's no hard evidence. So we need to get to the ship before they clear the data of where he's been and what he's done."

"That's a short window. He comes back to Republic space and probably clears it within minutes," Vara said, leaning forward now. Nothing got her interested like a tricky mission.

Poe nodded. "We have to hit the ship the moment it comes out of hyperspace, we have to disable it, get me aboard, get the senator and anyone else on the ship into the escape pods and off the vessel, restart the engines, and then get out of there again. And we have to do it within eight minutes."

"That's the Republic response time, isn't it?" Iolo guessed.

"At least to the Uvoss system," Vara said, reading though the information BB-8 was still projecting once more. "It's not on any patrol routes, which is probably why he's using it when he comes back from those visits."

"The first thing they'll do when they realize that they're under attack is send a distress call. Nearest Republic squadron will need at least 8 minutes to respond."

"At least?"

"Minimum. Could take them longer."

"Then let's hope it takes them longer."

* * *

This mission was different, because if the Resistance was found out to be behind it, it could start an all-out war. Vara had managed to get three Incom Z-95 Headhunters for the mission, a ship that had been used mostly during the Clone Wars. The only people in the galaxy who had them anymore were mostly smugglers and pirates, and they were, most importantly, unmarked. They couldn't be accused of doing this for the Resistance if they were caught. Unfortunately, the Z-95s weren't outfitted for astromechs, so the droids would have to stay behind. Vara would be able to preprogram the hyperspace jumps, which made it a bit faster for her and Iolo, but Poe would have to take a chip into the Grace and manually feed it through.

Vara was in the hangar, checking through the ships one last time and making sure the coordinates were entered properly when she heard Poe and BB-8 enter with the concussion missiles. BB-8 was beeping angrily at the pilot, who was shaking his head.

"I'm going to be packed into a Z-95 wearing an EVA suit and you want to sit on my lap? Worry less about being left behind and more about making sure the concussion missiles are fitted with the right warheads, all right, buddy?"

BB-8 kept on with his angry Binary, which faded into a grumpy chatter as he did what he was told.

"I'm going to come back. I always do," Poe said. But he didn't sound sure.

"Poe?" Vara said, coming out from behind the Z-95.

He jumped. "Jeez, Vara, I didn't know you were there."

"Just doing final prep. Making sure the coordinates are in, parts are all set and functioning, all that stuff." She wiped her greasy hands with a rag and tucked it into her belt. "We're gonna be okay. If something goes wrong, we can bail. Iolo and I will be right there waiting for you if you need to evac onto one of our ships."

"I know. I just feel like there's going to be something different about this one. Something we're not expecting." He shook his head and came over to check out the Z-95 next to her. "You know, I've always found that really sexy," Poe said, glancing at the rag.

"What, engine grease?" Vara made a face. "That stuff does not come off easily. Maybe I'll give you a bottle to use sometime, though," Vara said with a grin.

"No, no," Poe said, shaking his head. "When she's been working hard and gotten dirty like that. You know?" He cleared his throat and took a step closer to Vara. "Just like you have...right...there," he said quietly, brushing a piece of hair away from her temple where a spot of grease stained her skin.

"Um…" Vara mumbled, her heart pounding. She had officially been rendered speechless. His dark eyes were staring intensely into hers, just inches away. Vara bit her lip, not entirely sure what to do. She knew what she could do, but the question was whether she should.

"Hey, Kilo-Nine," Iolo called, walking into the hangar. "That stuff get uploaded yet? I'm itching to go," he said, rounding the corner to face them. Poe had taken a smooth step backwards, just in time for Iolo not to glimpse how close they had been. Vara knew, however, that Iolo's vision could easily have seen some change in the infrared spectrum near them.

"Sure did," she said, pulling the chip with the navigational data out of her jumpsuit pocket. "Just giving this to Poe, and we're ready to prime."

Poe glanced at the three fighters, similar to the X-wings they usually flew, but still unique. "Feels strange going without him," he murmured.

Iolo put a hand on Poe's shoulder. "Muran would have been with us on this one," he said.

"He would have complained about the legroom, though."

"As much as you have so far, Kilo? Not even close."

* * *

The Uvoss system was completely and utterly boring. Two gas giants and one small iron planetoid made up the whole system, and eventually the planetoid would just be sucked up into one of the giants. This was probably why the Senator chose this system to return to after going to visit the Order. The three pilots were required to maintain radio silence, so they couldn't even entertain each other. Vara tried to imagine every possible scenario they could encounter and how they could react to pass the time. Every so often she had to readjust her position in the cockpit because it was so cramped. She couldn't imagine being Poe right then, stuffed inside an EVA suit as well. The theory was this: they neutralized the yacht with Ion torpedoes, Poe did a crazy maneuver with an EVA suit and thrusters and got on board, she and Iolo patrol the space around the ship until Poe could get everything started up and programmed, and they jump away. Theoretically a little dangerous, but nothing too bad. The scariest part for Vara was Poe hurtling through space in nothing but a suit after ejecting from his fighter and slamming into the side of the yacht. And he said they'd be the crazy ones to agree to this.

After waiting for what felt like hours, Vara saw Iolo's engines fire up. He could always tell before anyone else - he probably saw a shift in the infrared or UV spectrum - and they had learned years ago to trust when he started a bit early. Vara followed by starting up her ship just as the Hevurion Grace snapped into realspace, and the three of them jumped into action. The ship began to broadcast a distress signal and probably at the same moment her friends did, Vara reached up and hit a trigger that started the 8 - minute countdown. Vara and Iolo sent off the ion pulses, which would disable the ship's defenses and power systems. A moment went by, the yacht firing a set of defensive flares that successfully detonated as few of the ions early, but one from each of them got through. The ship went dim, blue fingers of energy tangling through it. This was their cue to split and start keeping an eye out around the ship.

Vara couldn't help but think about Poe. He had probably pressed the autopilot and undone his harness, getting ready to eject and begin his hurtle towards the Grace. There was absolutely nothing she could do unless he, only in an emergency, said something over the comms. She began her loop around the yacht, passing Iolo with no interaction, making her way back to where they had started. Very briefly she saw a tiny figure on the side if the hull, pulling out a torch and beginning to cut his way inside. Or maybe that was just her imagination. Either way, on her second loop, the power on the Grace began to come back on, and she took that as a good sign. Soon afterwards, a tiny escape pod burst from the side of the yacht, another good sign. Poe had managed to scare off the Senator and his crew.

A feeling of dread, of dark anticipation, the same kind that she'd had on the trip to save the Yissira Zyde, invaded her. Her senses were on high alert and she watched Iolo like a hawk when she could. Anything he caught before her saved them precious seconds in the remaining four minutes. Half of their time had elapsed. At this point, Poe should have been getting the engines online and plugging in the navigational data with the chip she'd given him.

With three minutes and twenty-nine seconds left, Vara heard the phrase she never wanted to hear: Iolo said, simply, "Uh-oh."

Vara whipped around to look in the same direction in time to see three huge ships come out into realspace. Two star destroyers and a Nebulon-K were suddenly staring them down, multiple smaller ships following behind. TIE fighters spilled from the belly of one of the destroyers, heading straight for the Hevurion Grace.

"First Order!" Poe shouted into his comm. "Vara, Iolo, get out of here!"

Instead, they both did the exact opposite. Vara began calculating the distance between the TIEs and the Grace, Iolo maneuvering around to face them.

"Commander, what's your time to jump?"

"I gave you an order, Captain Hesh."

"Sorry, can't hear you over all these TIE fighters coming at me," she replied, dialing in on the group headed towards the yacht. Iolo was getting closer, and in a few seconds she would take off after them. The timing had to be just right, or she'd end up being too close.

"It's gonna be forty, forty-five seconds. I can evade these slugs for that long," Poe said.

"So a minute and a half," Iolo said. He sounded almost like he had known something like this would happen. He sounded resigned. "You're a bad liar, Commander."

"I am not!" he retorted.

"We'll keep them off your back, Commander," Vara interjected. "You keep your back hard to climb on to begin with."

"You're both disobeying my orders," Poe grunted. Vara could only imagine what was going on in that cockpit. "Don't think I'll forget this."

"You can court-martial us later, sir," she snapped back. They would never leave him like this and he knew it.

Vara and Iolo followed the TIEs that were making a beeline for the yacht. It seemed almost too easy. They were so intent on getting to the Grace that in twenty seconds, the Resistance pilots were able to line up and cut the group from eighteen to nine before they broke away and tried to evade. Even then, Vara took out another two and Iolo one.

"Leave some for the rest of us," Poe's voice came over the comms.

"You snooze, you lose," Vara intoned. "Time until jump? For real this time, please, Commander."

"Another forty seconds," he responded.

Vara focused on the last few TIEs until the next set deployed. A turbolaser shot fired through space before her, missing the Grace by almost nothing. One of those shots and Poe was done for. Not just disabled, either - vaporized.

"Little help," their Commander said tersely, and Iolo was immediately on the two TIEs that had snuck around the yacht. Two fireballs and they were gone, but another group was spitting from the destroyer as they watched.

"Head for that Resurgent class destroyer," Poe said referring to the larger of the two ships.

"Say what now?" The idea of what Poe was doing started to form in Vara's head, but it was a little crazy. They were less likely to fire on them with the turbolaser if they were close enough to their own ships. The timer on the HUD was counting down slower than ever.

"One hit from those turbolasers and we're done," Iolo asserted.

"Same goes for the TIE fighters," Poe said.

"That close, you're vulnerable to the tractor beams."

"Resurgent emitters are to the prow. Don't come at it from the front." Poe was clearly set on this idea.

"Well, that settles that," Vara said. "Let's charge the Star Destroyer. Coming, Iolo?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No," Poe replied swiftly, and the two Z-95s pulled around to flank him. Iolo almost hung above him, emitting a fine mist and and few sparks.

"Iolo, check your port side," Poe called.

"I know. Not much I can do about it right now."

"You could leave," Poe suggested again.

"What, and miss this? Kilo-Nine would never let me hear the end of it."

"He's right, I wouldn't," Vara said. The second major wave of TIEs was approaching, and as eager as the pilots were, they waited for the signal.

"Break," Poe said, and the three of them executed the move like they had read his mind. Poe pulled up, Iolo spun down, and Vara cut to port, all at once. The first round of fire from the TIEs flew harmlessly by, and both Iolo and Vara sped after the fighters as they broke their own formation. Half split and went for the Grace, but Vara saw the defense turret beginning to glow. She took off after another group that tried to loop around and come again. A flash, and the turret on the Grace took down two of its own TIEs as the destroyer grew ever closer. Vara found Iolo, struggling to stay out of reach of a particularly agile fighter.

"Iolo, watch it!"

"I don't have room!"

"Cut port, cut port, I'll pick him up!" Vara strained the Z-95 as hard as she could around, following the acrobatics of her comrade. Iolo cut over, and that helped bring the fighter into her range, but not soon enough. She shot it down just after it fired on Iolo.

"Hit, I'm hit," he said, his radio fizzling in and out. "Losing power."

"Iolo, jump," Poe urged. "Go!"

"Not leaving without you!"

Vara took out another TIE, thinking to herself that she would do the same thing. As long as she was there and able to help, she'd stay.

After a moment, she heard the best thing she would hear all day. "We're going together," Poe said, elation in his voice. "Break off and jump to lightspeed!"

Vara angled onto the jump vector and flipped the switch, following the first order she'd been given since the eight minutes had started. She could only hope that Iolo and Poe were right behind as space stretched around her into the familiar tunnel of light. She released her grip on the controls, relaxing the muscles in her entire body one by one. The term 'white knuckles' had never been so relevant. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she started to wait out the thirty-two minutes it would take to get back to the ship. After the last eight minutes, that felt like an eternity.

She came out of hyperspace in front of the Echo of Hope, pulling slowly and easily into its hangar. There was probably going to be some kind of damage to her ship, but she had to remind herself that this was just a little Z-95 they'd used to go undetected. Still, just like with every ship she flew, she cared for it as much as any other.

Iolo came in as she was unbuckling her harness, much worse for wear. There was a moment where Vara was surprised that he'd gotten out of there at all. She waited for him to exit the cockpit and took the tall Keshian in a hug.

"Good flying out there," he said, hugging tightly back.

"Thanks. You too, Arana," she said, letting out a breath. "Now we wait for him."

"I give him two more minutes, judging by the hyperdrive on that yacht." He peered at Vara for at moment. "Sit down for a second, girl. You're shaking."

Vara looked down at her hands. She hadn't even realized. "Sorry. That one was just...all sorts of wrong. The implication that the First Order even responded to that signal…"

Iolo nodded, turning away. They grasped just how serious this was.

Iolo had estimated almost exactly right. Just under two minutes later, the Hevurion Grace popped into view and came slowly into the hangar. The two pilots waited impatiently for their Commander to come down the ramp, and the three of them just looked at each other for a moment. Finally, they broke into laughter, Vara leaping to Poe's arms. They all talked over each other, Vara saying that Iolo had gotten lucky but he had saved her and Iolo said she saved him first and that had been flying. They laughed at the thought of General Hux trying to explain that they had been outdone by a luxury yacht and two ancient Z-95s.

"Muran would have loved to see that," Iolo murmured, and all of them went quiet.

"He would have been proud," Vara said, her voice on the verge of breaking.

"Yes. He would have," Poe said decidedly, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. "Go get cleaned up. We'll toast to him."

Vara and Iolo started away, catching a glimpse of General Organa at one of the doors to the hangar. She and Poe obviously had more to discuss, but Vara would leave them to it. She wanted nothing more than a shower and a drink.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everyone! Back wtih chapter seven! HUGE shoutout to sarahmichellegellarfan1 (my most loyal reviewer) and everyone who has given reviews, as well as all 50+ followers! I know it's not a ton in comparison to other stories but it's super fun for me! So thanks for the love :)**

 **Chapter 7**

 **Destruction**

Vara was dreaming.

She saw her parents, much younger than they were as she knew them, running through a forest. It wasn't Endor, Vara knew that - it was somewhere she'd never been before. The forest was dense, overgrown and green, the ground slippery with recent rain and decaying leaves. Her parents were holding hands, leaping over logs and darting around rocks, running as hard as they could. Vara saw them from above, saw the fear on their faces. She was about to call out to them when suddenly they disappeared, and she snapped back to their home on Hosnian Prime. The house was just as she remembered: tall for just being two stories, the stark white walls perfectly clean, the angled metal rooftop gleaming in the sun. She was standing on their front steps, a teenager again. Her little brother clung to her leg and they looked up at the sky. It had turned a glaring red, bathing the entire planet in a bloody glow.

A metallic banging startled her, oddly out of place. Swiftly she picked up her brother, only seven or eight years old, and turned to open the door to their house. The handle crumbled in her fingers, turning to ash on the ground. Vorik began to cry and buried his face in her shoulder. Panic rose in Vara's chest and threatened to suffocate her like an inevitable tide.

"Vara?" It was Poe's voice, strange to hear on her home planet. Vara whirled around, searching for him for a moment, until her brain began to figure out what was happening.

Opening her eyes, she sat up with a jolt, gasping for air. The banging was Poe knocking on the door to her room. She pulled the sheet up to her armpits, covering her nearly bare bottom half and her white tank top, which had turned almost translucent with sweat.

"Yeah?" she called after clearing her throat.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," she said, gathering the sheet further. He keyed in the code that he knew by heart and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.

"We got word from someone on Takodana. BB-8 and Finn are there with Han Solo. They…" He looked up and saw her and turned away, clearing his throat. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine. Just getting sleep where I can."

He looked back at her, his brow furrowing. "You okay?"

She shook her head. "Bad dream. Nothing, really."

"You sure?"

She knew he was thinking of the night before they tried to rescue the _Yssira Zyde_. She had gotten little sleep after her dream back then, eventually leaving her room and reading in the living room. Poe had gotten up early that morning on a hunch, and they sat and talked about it on the couch as dawn broke. The dream she'd had that night was more ominous, but it involved the Rapiers floating helplessly through space while TIE fighters shot at them, closing in with every second. It had seemed doomed, fated to happen, and then when Muran had been shot down that day, all of Vara's worst fears had come true, morphing from her dream to reality.

"I think so. I mean, I can't say it's like last time, but it...it feels like it."

He came and sat next to her on her bed. "What was it about?"

She took a deep breath. "My family. On Hosnian Prime. I saw them running from something, and then Vorik and I were watching the sky turn red. I don't know what it means."

"If you want to get in touch with them before we go, you can. But we are leaving soon," he said. "How old is that kid now? Twenty?"

"Almost," she said with a smile. "Next month." She sighed again. "I think it'll be okay. So we're headed to Takodana?"

Poe nodded. "We're gonna go get my droid back," he said, a determined look on his face.

"Good. Let me get dressed and I'll be right behind you."

With a smirk, he stood up. "You sure you want to change? Flying in your pajamas might be fun."

Vara glared at him playfully. He knew full well that she slept with almost nothing on. "Too cold," she said, folding her arms.

"If you say so," he replied. "I'll meet you back at the hangar, yeah?"

"See you there."

* * *

After they had been flying quietly in hyperspace for about half an hour, making their way towards Takodana as fast as they could, Poe interrupted the silence. "All squadrons, all units, come in."

The 14 fliers echoed their callsigns back to him, and his voice was different when he spoke again. It made Vara's stomach clench.

"We've gotten word from base. The weapon we thought the Order had...it's real. And they used it. Worse than we thought. It destroyed a whole system." He paused. Vara held her breath, waiting for him to say which one. Then Poe's voice came again, clearly. "The Hosnian system is gone."

Vara stared out into the bluish-white of hyperspace, stunned. At first it didn't register in her mind what had happened. She saw her parents' faces in her head, followed by her brother's, and tears began to fall rapidly under her helmet. The cockpit of the X-wing suddenly closed in around her, the switches and panels she'd had memorized for years beginning to look foreign. R9 took over control of the X-wing and Vara clasped her hands over her mouth.

"No. Oh, no." She felt dizzy and squeezed her eyes shut to fight it. "Oh, no," she said again, nothing else coming to mind. Two quick beeps came over the radio, signaling a private comm line.

"Vara, I'm so sorry," Poe said quietly.

"My parents. Vorik. They were all still there."

"Are you...can you still fly?"

Vara knew that, even though this was a private channel between her and Poe, the whole Squadron was waiting on her answer. They knew where she was from - she had been proud. And the First Order had just taken it all away. Vorik, who would have turned 20 this year, studying politics under Chancellor Villecham of the New Republic. Her parents, raising them both with all their hearts. She thought of the first landspeeder they gave her when she was 8, and how a year later they brought her to visit the Republic Navy hangars when she showed incredible aptitude for flying.

"I'm...yes, I can fly. I will." She took a deep breath and grabbed hold of the controls again. R9 gave her a low whistle. "I'm going to kill every goddamn one of them," she growled.

"That's my girl," Poe said, switching back to the regular comms. "Dropping out of hyperspace in three minutes."

As they approached Takodana and dropped into the atmosphere, their group tight in attack formation, Vara focused on the fire in her blood. She was positioned behind Poe to his right, flanking him out over the lake and towards Maz Kanata's castle. The Red Squadron was behind her, following her into the dogfight. The First Order TIE fighters came into view, circling over the castle that had been turned to rubble. It was overrun with stormtroopers, and just behind the fallen castle was a black Upsilon class shuttle. The now-familiar feeling of dread washed over Vara, but she shook it, reveling in her anger against the Order.

"Go ahead, straight at 'em. Don't let these thugs scare you," Poe said to his fliers.

"Copy that," Vara said. ""Let's get em, Commander."

They dove into the battle, the designated few going for the ground forces while the rest took on the TIEs. Vara was one of those few, and she shot at the white-clad figures before she got too close. She let the Red squadron behind her fire on the TIEs ahead while she focused on the stormtroopers, her lasers narrow and agile. She took out one group of troopers in particular that was keeping hold of three captives before looping around to make a second pass. Each trooper was a mark to her, one that had helped cause the death of her family. Vara was firing relentlessly, taking out dozens of troopers with the cannons, seeing red. She was focused so hard on the ground troops that she didn't see the TIE that was on her tail until he fired a shot. Vara tried to twist away but it wasn't in time. The shot caught the left side of her ship and sheared away one of the wings. She immediately started to lose control of the X-wing.

"I'm hit!" she said, barrel rolling away from the TIE and trying to swing around. "They took out my left side. She's not going to last long," she said, the anger vanishing. How could she have been so unaware? Nothing like this had ever happened before. The anger had taken her too far. "Anyone see a decent place to set down close by?"

"There was a clearing about a kilometer from the castle to the west, Red One." Jessika Pava, the only other female in the Blue and Red squadrons, called out to her.

"Heading for it now, thanks Red Three. I'll make contact with the shuttle on the ground."

"Red One, stay sharp," Poe called. "That Upsilon class belongs to him."

Vara didn't have to ask who Poe was talking about. "Copy that, Black Leader." After a second, she saw the clearing that Red Three was talking about. It was small, and Vara had a hard time slowing down enough, but she managed to land the X-wing with its nose in the trees. She fumbled with her straps and helmet, popping the cockpit open. It only opened two feet, stopped by tree trunk that had broken and was laid over the ship.

"R9!" she cried. No answer. The droid's power was down, and the tree was on top of him.

"Shit," Vara said. "Okay, buddy, I'm coming back for you. I have to get to the castle." She knew he couldn't hear her - it was mostly for her own sake. Vara wiggled out of the cockpit and drew her blaster, flipping off the safety and taking off at a dead run through the forest towards the castle. As she made her way into the forest, following the sounds of the fighters and blasters, she was hit with a wave of deja vu strong enough to make her slow down to reorient herself. This was the planet that her parents had been running on. They had probably never been to Takodana, at least as far as she knew, but in her dream, this was exactly the environment she had pictured. Shaking the thought and the sadness away, she pushed onward.

She had run about half the distance, following a riverbed through the rocks, when she rounded a corner and headbutted a tall figure clad in all black. It was like hitting a brick wall and she stumbled backwards a step. Before her brain even understood what her eyes were seeing, Vara knew. She felt him. The darkness that Poe had described that day in the dormitory flooded her. She stared at Kylo Ren for a moment before raising her blaster, but his reaction time was better, and he grabbed hold of her arm and twisted. The shot went straight upwards and Vara screamed as he yanked, dislocating her shoulder with one tug.

"Get out of my way," the artificial voice growled, and Vara saw that he only had one hand to grab her with. The other was holding a girl, slung over his shoulder. Ren released her arm and in a split second thrust his hand at her. Vara found herself flying through the air, and she felt a blinding pain on the side of her head as she made impact before falling to the ground. Everything went grey and she laid there, face down, for a minute while she heard him move away. She had dropped her blaster and trying to go after him would be foolish, a death sentence. As soon as he had gone, she pushed herself up with her good arm. Her head throbbed, black spots flashing in front of her eyes. She thought she was hearing things when a few quiet beeps sounded to her right.

"No way. BB-8?"

The little droid gave a short whistle, followed by a few chirps and beeps.

"They're pulling back? Why?" Vara thought for a second. Maybe it had to do with the girl. "There's a Resistance shuttle coming. We need to get you there. You still have the map?"

An affirmative beep.

"Good. Can you find my blaster? I need a second." She cried out again as she got first to her knees, then to her feet. BB-8 beeped from by the rocks where she had run into Ren, and she stumbled her way over to him.

"Let's get out of here."

They burst through the treeline and saw that the First Order ships were gone. General Organa was surveying the area next to an older man and a Wookiee. Vara couldn't believe her eyes. Han Solo was pretty unmistakable, even without the giant furry being next to him.

"Captain Hesh," the General called.

Vara jogged over to her, followed closely by BB-8. "Well, General, I found him. Took me a while, but he has the map."

"Are you alright? Your head."

Vara glanced at Solo, then back to the General. "Ma'am, I ran into...into Kylo Ren. He was carrying a girl, so he didn't kill me, but he threw me out of his way. It's nothing."

"Pretty bloody to be nothing," Han Solo said and stepped over to her. "You saw him? Up close?"

Vara reached up and touched the side of her face, her hand coming away with blood she hadn't known was there. "Too close. Nearly took my arm off. Sir," she added hastily.

"Don't call me that. What's your name?"

"Hesh. Captain Vara Hesh. Some people call me Kilo-Nine," she added, a little bit woozy. A moment later she wondered why she even said that.

"Kid, you look like you're about to pass out."

"Vara," General Organa said from behind her. The tone in her voice, the sadness and mourning, told Vara exactly what she wanted to say without another word. Vara covered her face with her good hand. The reality of what had happened hit her all over again.

"They destroyed my planet," she said, her voice breaking. The tears came again, and her shoulders slumped forward. Leia came around and took the woman in her arms, knowing exactly what kind of pain she felt. For the first time in her life, Vara lost control and sobbed against the General.

"I'm sorry, General. My head...I don't know what I'm doing."

"Let's get you on the shuttle. We're going back to D'Qar. Commander Dameron will want to know you're all right."

"How do you know about Poe?" She shook her head free of the thought, then, "My droid is in my ship. Clearing about a kilometer from here. I need that guy," Vara said, getting dizzy again.

"I'll get someone there. You need rest." She led Vara away, towards the shuttle.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello again! Chapter 8 here. A few notes: I'm going to be taking down the Before the Storm oneshot because that chapter will be coming up soon and I've made some edits and improvements. Also, I know people have been jonesing for some Poe & Vara action and it will come very soon! This chapter is part of their history and definitely plays into the later stuff. The reviews that have come in are amazing! I love each and every one of you :) Here goes!**

 **Chapter 8**

 **Family**

 _3 years earlier - Mirrin Prime_

The moment her X-wing was on the ground, Vara pressed the release for R9 and leapt out of the ship. "I'll see you guys later!" she called to her squadron, jogging back to their barracks. It was set up like an apartment, four small bedrooms connected by a living room. The cantina wasn't far, but Vara wasn't going to have lunch with the Rapiers today. Her family was visiting the planet and she was going to spend the rest of the day with them. She changed as fast as she could, pulling on the leather jacket that Poe given to her on her first anniversary with the Rapiers.

"Whoa, taking off already?"

"They'll be at the station in less than half an hour," Vara said, lacing up her boots. "I don't want them to wait!"

"Your Mobquet will get you there in no time," Muran said, sitting down at their small table. The Mobquet Flare-S was a swoop bike that Vara had bought and fixed up, namely reinstalling brakes after the bike had been used for illegal racing and confiscated. Technically, she wasn't supposed to have something that fast, but the Major had made an exception because she was such a good pilot.

"She knows. She's just too excited." Iolo said as he passed them to go to his room.

"You're going to bring them here, right?" Poe asked, hanging up his jacket. "We have to meet them."

Vara scoffed, hands on her hips. "Should I really show my mother that I live with three scruffy-looking men?"

"I'm not scruffy!"

"You get a pass, Iolo," Vara said. Keshians had a habit of staying clean-shaven. Whether it was by their choice or they just didn't grow much hair, Vara didn't know. "You, on the other hand," she said to Poe, who hadn't shaved in a few days. He was well on his way to a full beard. "That's definitely not regulation. Plus my brother will see this and think it's cool, and then try to join in."

"How old is he again?"

"Sixteen. Seventeen in two months."

"Does he have your reflexes?"

"No, somehow he missed that gene."

"Then you're fine," Poe said with a shrug. "No one's gonna replace you, Kilo-Nine."

"Woof," she said. "I'm out. I'll probably bring them around. So don't be drinking and playing cards when I get back."

She hopped on her Mobquet and accelerated away, weaving through traffic on the way to the station. A smile had been on her face since she woke up that morning. She hadn't seen her family in nearly four years, since she was placed with Rapier Squadron. She talked with them every week, asking after Vorik's schooling, talking to her parents about notable patients that they'd had. Both of them were doctors, and had been some of the best during the Rebellion. Together they had joined and been field doctors for many notable battles, including the Battle of Endor. Her mother had been on the ship with Admiral Ackbar and her Fahey on the ground with the troops. It was because of them that Vara felt the need to act, to help the light overcome the dark.

The station came up quickly, and Vara stopped with a jolt. Parking haphazardly, she leapt off the swoop and practically skipped inside. The hyperspeed trip from the Hosnian system was only an hour or so, and the Hesh family was supposed to land between 11:45 and 12 Mirrin time. It was exactly 11:45, and Vara could hardly contain herself.

Through the crowd, Vara could see a young man, tall, with the same copper-colored hair as she had. He was flanked by two graying adults, both with the same searching eyes and wide smiles. Vara ran straight to her brother, throwing her arms around his ribs.

"Vorik! How did you get so tall so quickly?"

"I seem to have gotten all the height that you didn't," he said, his voice a gentle baritone. Vara had missed a lot over the last two years, but to her, he would always be the same 10-year old boy, curious about how the galaxy worked with a thousand questions. He had not necessarily been planned by their parents, but was welcomed, since they had a hard time conceiving Vara. There was a 11-year gap between the siblings, and while their parents were working, Vara often took care of little Vorik before she joined the New Republic Starfleet. He had even been a passenger on a joyride or two, once in Vara's lap in a rented landspeeder.

Letting go of her baby brother, Vara let her parents embrace her. The most comforting arms in the world, and she was finally back in them. Her parents were nurturing, though realists; if there was an emergency, Ansar Hesh was the best man to have around. He reacted quickly and without hesitation. Vara had loved watching him work. He was procedural, fully aware of every single detail in his surroundings and he knew what to make of it all. Kanna Hesh always said that Vara was just like her father, which is why she was such a good pilot. It was her hair that both children had inherited, and her compassion. Kanna had taught them both to be understanding, to try and help the beings around them in any way they could.

"Look at you. Lieutenant Hesh," her father said, holding her at arm's length. "My little girl."

"Oh, dad," Vara groaned, a huge smile betraying her pretend embarrassment. "I missed you guys so much."

"I love that jacket, hon," her mother said, squeezing her arm.

"Thanks, it was a gift from our Commander. You'll meet him and the other guys in a bit. They're wonderful, I promise."

"Well, take us to lunch and tell us," her mother said. "We want to hear everything."

They spent nearly two hours at Vara's favorite diner, talking about everything that had happened in the four years that Vara had been gone. Vorik filled her in on the classes he was taking in his final year of school, graduating a year early. Everyone had said that he was smart enough to be a doctor like his parents when he grew up, but he was very interested in politics. He said that he had met Chancellor Villecham a month ago, and Vara saw the light in his eyes when he spoke about it. He had found his calling, just like his older sister had. Vara listened to her parents talk about their patients, fewer now that they had gotten older, but they never planned on retiring until they were forced to.

The walk back to the barracks was only about 8 more blocks, and since it was a beautiful day, Vara showed them a few of her favorite places in the city along the way, only briefly addressing the Rapiers' favorite bar in passing.

"Well, this is it," Vara said, inputting the code and opening the door to the Rapiers' quarters. She didn't quite know what to expect, but it wasn't quite what she saw: Muran and his girlfriend, Tiiri, sitting at the table talking quietly, Iolo reading in one of the chairs next to the window, and Poe on the couch flipping through the galactic news on his datapad. They seemed so normal. The Commander had even shaved, only sporting his usual 5 o'clock shadow.

"Hello, gentlemen!" Ansar said, the same smile on his face.

"Guys, these are my parents and my brother, Vorik. This is Muran and Tiiri, Iolo Arana, and our Commander, Poe Dameron." Each of the three men in the Squadron stood to shake their hands.

"Dameron?" Ansar squinted at Poe. "Your father didn't happen to serve in the Alliance, did he?"

A small smile came over Poe's features. "Yes sir, he did. He was a commando."

"Battle of Endor, wasn't it? I remember him. Treated a flesh wound of his, I think. He couldn't wait to get back out on the battlefield. Wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Now we know where he gets it," Iolo said with a chuckle.

"You knew his father?" Vara exclaimed. "Did you know this?" she asked Poe.

He shrugged. "I had an idea. My dad mentioned being treated by a doctor on Endor. When you said they were there, I knew it could have been a possibility."

"And you didn't tell me," she scolded.

"Oh, let him be, honey. Now what do you kids have to drink around here?" Kanna asked, turning to the pilots with her hands on her hips. "I remember living in the barracks. There was always alcohol somewhere."

"Mom!" Vara cried as Vorik laughed.

"And you were worried about _us,_ " Muran sighed.

By the end of the evening, everyone was sitting around the table, cards strewn between them and forgotten, listening to each other's stories, namely Ansar and Kanna's. They spoke of the Battle of Endor, when they had met on Yavin, the time they treated a little Keshian girl with eyes just like Iolo's. Vara, a pleasant buzz in her head, sat between her brother and Poe, listening intently even to the ones she'd heard many times already. The smile still hadn't left her face.

"Honey," Kanna said gently, placing her hand on Ansar's shoulder. "We have to head back to the station if we're going to make that transport."

Ansar looked woefully at Vara. "If we must."

The group stood, shaking hands and saying goodbyes. Vara would walk with them back to the station and they would catch the last transport out back to the Hosnian system.

"Mind if I walk with you?" Poe asked as Vara pulled on her jacket again.

"Of course, son," Ansar said. "Vara could use the company coming back."

"Dad, I have my swoop -"

"You have a swoop bike?" Kanna almost shouted as they left the barracks. "When did you acquire _that_?"

Poe laughed as Vara stammered an answer. "It has brakes, I promise. And the Major approved…"

"Well, I didn't," she harrumphed.

Poe watched the family walk down the city street, Vorik walking quietly next to him, Vara in between her parents with an arm around each of them. His heart ached just a little, a small empty space where his own mother used to be. It had been 20 years, but there was never a time that he didn't miss her.

The station came all too soon, and he stood back a little, watching their goodbyes. Vara ruffled her brother's hair, even though she had to reach a little to do it, and told him to keep studying hard. Their parents had mentioned his University scholarship, given to him a year ahead for his age. The quiet young man was undeniably brilliant, and with his parents guidance, could be a strong force in the New Republic.

"Poe?" Ansar stepped over to the pilot as Vara tearfully hugged her mother. "I wanted to say thank you for looking after our girl."

He shook his head with a smile. "She doesn't need me to look after her," he said. "She's the best pilot I've got."

"Oh, I don't mean like that, " The older man chuckled. "I mean like Kanna looks after me. Like Kes looked after Shara. _Caring_ about her, " he said, calling Poe's parents by name. "We knew them a little better than we let on. Knew them on Yavin before the war ended and we moved to Hosnian."

"Really?" Poe said, completely surprised.

Ansar nodded. "We'll see you again soon, I think, Mr. Dameron," he said shaking Poe's hand firmly.

"Bye, dad," Vara said, coming over and hugging him tightly. "Miss you already."

"You too, sweetheart."

Poe and Vara stood back as they boarded the transport, and then the doors were locked and they took off, soaring away. Poe put an arm around Vara's shoulders. She wasn't looking at him, trying to hide the hand that was wiping at her eyes.

"Come on, let's head back. You're not driving that swoop tonight." He steered her gently back towards the barracks.

"No," Vara said with a laugh. "Had a drink too many for that. It's too nice not to walk anyways." Vara leaned into Poe, his arm still around her shoulders. "My mother says you're handsome," she said teasingly.

"Well, she has good taste then, doesn't she?" Poe replied, Ansar's words echoing through his head.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry about the delay! It was an interesting weekend...anyways, here's chapter 9! I think you guys will like this one. As usual, I only own Vara, and Disney owns all the other bits.**

 **Chapter 9**

 **Hands**

 _Returning from Takodana_

The black X-wing pulled into the airstrip at the Resistance base, landing as smooth as ever. The little droid at Vara's side squealed with excitement. R9 had been sent to the workshop for repairs, waiting patiently for Vara to come fix him like she always did, but BB-8 had been following Vara since they landed.

"Buddy, we should let him get out first," she said, but he had already started rolling that way. She started after him, jogging to keep up, trying to move her right arm as little as possible. The sling helped, but until she could get it reset in the infirmary, it was constantly reminding her of her run-in. She was willing to wait through it, though, to greet Poe out in the beautiful open-air hangar.

The cockpit of the X-wing opened and Poe began to climb out, and then Vara couldn't contain herself either. She ran just behind the BB unit, who was rolling as fast as he could. Poe pulled off his helmet and his eyes lit up when he saw his astromech. "BB-8, little buddy! It's so good to see you!" He knelt and took the droid in his hands, trying to listen to the constant stream of Binary coming from him.

"I know, I know, she helped save you. She saved us both," Poe said, looking up at Vara. He stood and stepped around BB-8, taking her uninjured hand in his own, a concerned look on his face. "What happened to you? Was it the crash?"

Vara held his hand tightly. This was new for them. His skin was warm, mostly soft with a few calluses where he held the controls for his ship, the same place Vara had them on the underside of her knuckles. "I was coming back to the castle from where I landed when I literally ran into him. Into Ren," she said with a shiver. "I think I startled him, and he tried to rip my blaster arm off while he carried this girl they've been talking about. Gave up on that and just Force threw me. Hit a tree," she said, turning her head to show him. A bruise covered her temple and crept towards her eye. It wasn't as swollen as she thought it would be, which was a blessing, but there was a cut behind her hairline and the bruise would take weeks to fade. "He scared me. I froze up."

Poe stared at her. "Vara, he could have killed you!"

"I know that. They'll have me patched up in ten minutes, though, and I'll be able to fly fine. I -"

Suddenly Poe was kissing her, his other hand gently resting at the back of her neck. The kiss was urgent, even excited, but slow and experimental. Vara was momentarily stunned, and then she caught up with herself and relaxed, kissing him back. It was as if there was a rope around their waists and someone was taking up the slack, drawing them together. Vara was unaware that they were squeezing each other's hands until they gently separated, remembering there was still a world around them.

"The thought of you getting hurt out there, much less killed by that monster…I never would have been able to tell you that I want this. That I want to explore this," he said, gesturing between them. He seemed a little lost for words, something that didn't happen to Poe Dameron very often.

Vara smiled slyly. With her hand in his, she wrapped his arm around her waist. "Well, why didn't you just say so?"

A string of beeps and chirps erupted from beside them.

"BB-8!" both pilots shouted in unison. The Binary translation came out as "get a room, guys."

Poe turned back to her, examining the bruise on the side of her face. Vara sighed. "Looks awful, doesn't it?"

"You look great," he said with a grin. "All the same, you need to get to the infirmary," he said.

"You're right." Vara paused for a second. "You're gonna have to let me go, though," she murmured, her cheeks pink.

"Right," he said, clearing his throat and taking his arm from her waist. "I'll find you as soon as I check in with the General, okay?"

"Holding you to that," she said, turning to jog away. She could have skipped back to the infirmary, dislocated arm and all.

* * *

Finn saw the two figures, a sphere and a female pilot, running towards the black X-wing. Why was BB-8 going so fast? Who was that important to the droid? Slowly it dawned on him. That was the flying ace he'd seen earlier, the one that had led the charge on Takodana and taken down so many TIEs. He couldn't believe who he was seeing, crouching in front of the droid and then standing to talk to the woman. The man who had given him his name and who had helped him start on the right path was alive.

Finn started towards them, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Poe kiss the other pilot.

"Damn, Poe," he said to himself. "Better give them a minute." He waited impatiently, moving again when Poe released his grip on the woman's waist. The woman turned and took a few steps towards Finn before she saw him. She was just in between the two men, a few yards away from each.

"Are you Finn?" she said, examining his jacket. "You must be." She strode up to him and wrapped him in a hug with her good arm. "Thank you for saving him. I don't know what we would have done without you." She stepped back. "I can't even imagine what it took to do what you did."

Poe ran up behind them. "Don't get too excited, Vara. My turn!"

"I'll see you guys later," Vara called, trotting back towards the base.

Poe and Finn babbled over each other about how they had gotten there for a moment, and then Finn nodded behind them. "Who's she?"

Poe grinned. "That's, uh, that's Vara. She's the one who was sent to rescue me on Jakku. We've been flying together a long time. You saw all that, didn't you?"

Finn nodded. "She's pretty, huh?"

"Oh, don't even go there, pal."

* * *

After Poe had talked to General Organa with Finn, he raced down into the infirmary. They were going to be called for a meeting in half an hour for all of the officers, and they only had a few hours before something had to be done about Starkiller Base.

"Vara?" he called, brushing past the Wookiee in the corner telling the nurse how brave he was. He had taken off his white flight vest but was still in his jumpsuit, wrinkled and a little dirty. Vara knew she didn't look much different.

"Over here, Poe."

He was at her bedside in a second, alarmed at the scanner attached to her head. "What is that doing?"

She laughed. "The look on your face right now," she giggled.

"That's...it's weird! I've seen those before, but not on you."

"It's just checking to see if I have a concussion," Vara said, waving her hand. "Which I don't think I do."

The nurse next to her sighed. "We'll let the scanner see about that."

"Of course," Vara said, relinquishing. "I don't though. Because if I do, I can't fly."

Poe nodded. "I know. Something tells me you're clear, though."

Vara's head felt anything but clear, mostly because of that kiss and what Poe had said, but she didn't mention that with everyone around them. "Any word from the General on what comes next?"

"There's an officer's meeting in about fifteen minutes. Maybe a little longer."

"Good, that means I can hit the cantina before then. I didn't get to eat before we left for Takodana." She leaned back in the medical bed, which was propped up in a sitting position. "Poe, I have to apologize for how I flew today. It was awful. I let it get to me."

Poe tried to say something, but Vara put up her hand. "There's no excuse. I should have either backed out or put it away until later. Instead I let myself get shot down and thrown all over the place. A Captain can't set that example."

"You did what you could," Poe said. "You let it get out of hand, but you've already learned not to make that mistake again. I know you don't think you did well, but those guys on the ground may have been able to get Han and Chewie and Finn back on the shuttle and taken them if you didn't clear those troopers out. I'll admit, it was the most reckless I've ever seen you, but it almost worked for you. They were cleared out in about two minutes. You know no one else can shoot like you, under duress or not." He took her hand again, and Vara's stomach flipped. "Plus, there was nothing you could do against Ren. He scared the hell out of me, too."

"You've never worried about me this much," she said, looking into his eyes herself this time.

"I actually have," Poe said, quieter now. "I just kind of repressed it. I know you can take care of yourself so I kept it to myself. I didn't get to say anything before Saber Strike, but I thought about it. We were working," he said with a shrug. "Though you made your worry pretty clear at times," he teased.

"Well, yeah. I'm not the one who ran off to try and take on the whole First Order by himself looking for a stolen freighter. Of course I was worried."

"Hey, Kilo-Nine," called a voice from the door.

"Hello, General," Vara said, sitting up a little straighter. That was only the second time General Organa had called her by that name, and it was only when she was feeling generous. She made her way over to them, the people in the infirmary parting for her like an ocean. "So you're turning into a mech yourself now?"

"Trying not to." The scanner beeped, signaling that it was finished. A nurse stepped between the officers and lifted it off.

"You're lucky," she said with a skeptical look. "No concussion. But be careful. I would normally say don't fly, but you seem pretty important. If I didn't know that these results can't be faked…"

"Good," Leia said. "We do need you. Actually, I came to tell you that you have ten minutes until the meeting."

"Great!" Vara said, hopping out of the bed. "Only takes two to get to the cantina. I'm starved."

"I also wanted tell you that R9 is fine and ready to fly, just got something disconnected."

"It was the battery storage casing, wasn't it? I knew it was a little loose, didn't have time in between Jakku and this flight to fix it. Man, I really have to reposition -"

"Yes, yes. And this?" Leia said, pointing to Vara and Poe's hands, which had not been disconnected. "It's about time. I could feel it a long time ago," she said, and Vara knew she was talking about the Force. Vara was a little Force-sensitive, and she had talked about it with the General before, but Leia had powers that Vara's mind couldn't even grasp.

"You couldn't!" Vara yelped. She slapped her free hand over her mouth, realizing what she had just said to her General.

Leia looked at them with a smirk. "Relax, Hesh. I could feel it a little bit. But seeing you two, I knew. Surprised it took you guys this long."

Vara could feel herself blushing madly. Nevertheless, she didn't let go of Poe's hand as they strode quickly to the cantina to see if there was anything left. She knew what came next: some deadly mission that was a last resort against the Order. She was more than willing to go for it; she had committed her life to fighting the good fight. While she was here, however, she wasn't wasting a second.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Chapter 10 here! Loving the reviews - if I haven't gotten back tp you, I'm so sorry. I don't actually have days off from work, so I see them, but I cant necessarily respond right away. So know that I love them and I appreciate every single one!**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Before the Storm**

Back in the command room, filled with maps and diagrams and people running around in orange jumpsuits, General Organa called for quiet. Poe and Finn walked them through what the weapon, called 'Starkiller Base,' was and how it worked. It was going to be tough, the hardest mission they'd ever faced, but eventually a plan was formed, an assault on the base at a specific point after Finn, Han, and Chewbacca made their way in and shut down the shields. Han wouldn't elaborate on how he would get through the shields that guarded the base, but General Organa gave them the benefit of the doubt.

"You have one and a half hours to eat, nap, whatever you need to do as we make final preparations," Major Ematt said as the General headed off to discuss more with Han. "Meet back at 1200 at your ships to make final inspections."

"Most dangerous one yet," Snap Wexley, Vara's fellow Captain and leader of the Blue squadron said, walking with them towards the barracks. "Small target on the First Order base, not very many of us."

"Don't remind me," Vara said, shaking her head. "There are only twelve of us that can fly out there." That number made her extremely nervous. Such a daring mission meant they needed all the firepower they could get, but that wasn't very much.

"I'll meet you guys at the hangar," Wexley said, turning away. The air was thick with anxiety, everyone on the base preparing for what was to come. They would possibly lose many of their friends in this mission, and if they failed, they would be destroyed.

Poe and Vara wordlessly walked back to his room. It was automatic for them to spend time together before a mission, usually talking through logistics or reviewing tactics. Today was different, mostly because of the weight of the situation. They were both keyed up for the mission - nothing had changed there. But something had shifted between them just before the most dangerous operation of their lives.

Poe let her in and shut the door behind them. They looked at each other, not quite knowing what to say. Vara stood by the chair she'd sat in so often, debating with him about certain flight patterns and formations. She bit her lip slightly, her mind racing.

"Poe..." she said quietly, trailing off.

In two huge strides he was in front of her, his arms around her waist, kissing her. Everything that they had held back, consciously or otherwise, came out in a rush. Vara slung her arms around his shoulders and tangled one hand into his hair. He pulled her into him, closing the gap between them, sending a flurry of heat through her. They fumbled over to the twin-size bed and practically fell onto it when Poe paused, breathing hard.

"Have you ever…?"

She cleared her throat, looking up at him. "Once. Before I even met you."

"So it's been a while."

"You could say that." Her heart was pounding. It all made sense, and she wanted him more than anything, but she didn't know how to tell him. This was a bridge they had never crossed, but Vara knew it could very well be their last chance.

"Vara, if you don't want to, I -"

"I do want to," she murmured. "Poe, I've always needed you." She had never known him like this before, but when it was just the two of them, no Resistance or New Republic taking up all of her time, she couldn't imagine wanting anything else.

When Poe spoke, it was barely above a whisper as he gazed at her. "I've been waiting a long time to hear you say that."

* * *

"I want to know what you're thinking," Poe said.

Vara sighed. She didn't want to say it because that's when it became real. "I don't want this to be the last time we see each other."

"Don't think about it like that. We're gonna come out on the other side of this. I..." Poe trailed off, running a hand through his hair. Their orange jumpsuits hung in the corner of the room, reminding them of what they had to do next.

"I know, I shouldn't. It just all happened so soon, you know? We finally realize this and then suddenly we're leaving again." Her fingers traced over the lines on his back, the shoulder blades and muscles working under his tanned skin. She was lying on the bed, a sheet pulled up to her ribcage, her head propped up on her hand. Poe, sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, shivered just a little at her touch.

"You do know how to make time fly, don't you?" he said, turning to her with a sly smile.

"Oh my god. Oh my _god_ ," she groaned. "We're going on a mission to take down Starkiller Base with a dozen ships and you're making pilot puns." She rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I should expect this from you, shouldn't I?"

"Of course you should," he retorted, leaning down so his nose almost brushed hers. "I want you to remember that as my best joke." Poe smiled at her. His was her favorite smile in the whole galaxy. The small lines that appeared at the corners of his eyes, the way he lifted one side of his mouth when he was feeling cocky, the sincerity of it. If that was the last thing she saw, Vara would die happy.

"I sincerely hope that a pun was not your best joke. Unless you're not quite who I thought you were," she teased.

"You know me better than anyone, Vara, especially now," he replied, his voice turning heady. "Do you want me to show you again, or what?"

Vara leaned up and kissed him. That was enough of an answer to his question. Poe's hand slid under her and pulled her closer, arching her back into him. Goosebumps covered her skin and her heart began to race again. She wrapped her arm around his ribs, savoring the warmth of his skin. He started crawling back into the bed, throwing the sheets off of Vara and onto the floor.

From the small bedside table, both of their comms began to buzz. Vara groaned, releasing her grip on Poe.

"If I didn't respect General Organa so goddamn much," he growled, slowly sitting back up. "Which one is mine?"

"The newer one," she replied, closing her eyes for a moment. She was pretending that it was their morning alarm, that maybe Poe was a mechanic and she was a doctor on a lush planet somewhere and they lived in a nice house with BB-8 rolling around helping them with errands instead of...all this. What he'd said a few days ago resonated with her - what if they had stayed and lived a more normal life? It was clear that they were fated for much more than a simple existence, but Vara couldn't help her curiosity.

Of course, neither of them would give up the Resistance for anything. This was their cause, and they were going to do whatever they could to bring down the First Order. Even if it meant sacrificing themselves.

"And if you weren't the most talented pilot we have and the hero of the Resistance," she teased, swinging her legs over the edge of the cot. Poe had pulled on a pair of the slim-fitting black pants issued to the male pilots for under their jumpsuits. Vara stood and grabbed her own pair of underwear and leggings from the floor where they had been thrown.

"Not yet," Poe murmured in her ear, his arms slipping around her from behind. His hands brushed over the skin on her stomach and it was her turn to shiver. _Savor every moment,_ she reminded herself After her brush with mortality on Takodana, she wasn't going to waste a second with him. But the Resistance was calling for them.

"We're being summoned," she said softly, leaning back into him just a little.

"That's right, we have to save the galaxy from evil!" he exclaimed, slapping his palm to his forehead as Vara slipped on her black undershirt.

"Yeah, something like that. Now put your suit on, or General Organa will be wondering why we're so delayed."

Poe shot her a smirk, and they both put on their jumpsuits, the piece of clothing a Resistance pilot was the most proud to wear. Vara stood at the door and looked out the peephole, making sure the coast was clear.

"Two coming down the hall, but they'll be gone in a second," she said, pulling her coppery hair into a ponytail.

"Wait," Poe said, grabbing her belt and pulling her back to him. He pressed a kiss to her lips, slow and deliberate, his arm around her waist. "A nice one. For good measure."

Vara looked into his eyes. For once, at least for just a moment, they weren't full of that confidence and hunger that she was used to. They were studious and kind, as if trying to remember each detail before they headed out to the ships.

"And I want another one just like it when we get back," she said with a small smile.

Something bumped against the outside of their door and gave a loud whistle. Vara laughed at the little droid, who was obviously very excited to get going. "Well, at least BB-8 seems to have noticed we're missing. You ready?"

"After you," he said with a grand sweep of his arm. "Let's go fly."

* * *

Final inspection of the X-wings was complete. R9 was set, battery casing and all. There was nothing left to do but go. Takeoff was still another fifteen minutes away, so Vara checked in with her fliers in Red squadron, making sure they were all on track, before heading over to the Millennium Falcon, which was also preparing for takeoff.

"How's it going over here?" Vara asked, staring up at the ship.

"Fine," Finn said, a nervous edge to his voice. He was placing a set of explosives very carefully into their case.

"Hey, kid," Han Solo said, coming down the ramp. "Captain Hesh, right?"

"Yeah," she said, trying to contain her excitement that Han Solo had remembered her name. "Just coming to say hi."

"Leia didn't send you to check on us, did she?" Han sighed.

"No, I promise she didn't. She'll probably just come check on you herself," Vara laughed. "I also kind of just wanted to see this ship. It's legendary. Kessel run in twelve parsecs, right?"

Han grinned. "Thank you! When Rey said it was fourteen, I almost went back to Jakku to beat the tar out of that Plutt guy."

"From what I've heard, not worth your time."

"I agree. Putting a compressor on my ship, making me prime the fuel lines…"

"A compressor? On one of these?" Vara scoffed. "Not a good idea. If it has its original hyperdrive, then it would have been toast." She looked over the ship again. "I'm assuming you fixed it?"

"Rey did," Finn interjected. He looked so sorrowful and enraged at the same time when he said her name, like he was out for blood.

"I keep hearing about her," Vara said softly. "We're going to get her back, Finn. If you were able to help out BB-8, then you can help her, too. Which, thank you for that," she said, looking back to Han as well. "Poe is over the moons about having him back again." After a moment, she added, "We're glad to have you back on our side, Han. Leia probably didn't say that to you, but we are."

"Don't get used to it," he grumbled, but Vara saw the small smile that crossed his face, even if it was only there for a second. "I heard you're one of the better pilots out there, Kilo-Nine."

She stuttered for a moment. Not only did he know her name, he remembered her nickname. "That's what they tell me."

"And that Commander of yours too."

Vara felt the heat creep into her cheeks. "He's the best pilot most people have ever met."

"Let me give you some advice." He hitched up his belt a little. "One, if you're good at something, don't be humble. Own it. Two, fraternizing usually ends up going bad," he said, looking over her shoulder. "But I wouldn't have traded a minute of it for anything. You hear me?"

Vara smiled, not trying to hold it back. "I hear you."

Chewie roared appreciatively as he walked up. That was one language Vara hadn't learned yet, but the message was fairly clear. _Han is right._

"Why do they call you Kilo-Nine?" Finn asked, shutting the case and handing it to the Wookiee.

"Because I'm the best ally to have in a dogfight," she said proudly.

"Atta girl," Han said. "Now we gotta take off. Good luck out there, Captain."

"May the Force be with you," Vara replied. Finn nodded to her before heading up the ramp, and Han gave her a small wave.

After the last few ominous feelings she'd had, Vara had learned to trust them. She felt sadness, just a small bout, as she saw Han walk up the ramp behind Chewie. Maybe this was the last time she'd see one of them, even though that would be heartbreaking. There was nothing to do about it except fly the best she could, however, so she headed back to her fighter, slapping her hand over the newer ship's serial number as she did another once-over.

"Good luck, Captain," Wexley called as he jogged past.

"You too, Snap," Vara called back. Everyone was moving to their ships, pulling their droids up and keying in coordinates. She searched for Poe one last time and saw him clipping on his white flight vest. He looked up and caught her eye, giving her a wink and nudging BB-8. The droid wiggled a little before rolling to his place behind the cockpit.

"All right, R9. You ready to go?"

The droid whistled, glancing at her ship.

"You're right. New ship. First time I've flown for the Resistance without the Korrina," she said. "It'll be fine. A little strange, but fine. I have you, right?"

The droid beeped appreciatively and wheeled back to his spot. Vara climbed the ladder up to the cockpit, looking out over the open-air hangar of D'Qar once more. Her team was ready for the mission of a lifetime, raring to go. This was what she lived for, what everything so far had led up to. After the last few days, even with the lack of sleep and food and all the flying and newfound emotions, Vara couldn't be more excited. She climbed into the cockpit and started her up, testing the radio. She heard Poe start up his fighter two ships over, and she smiled, ready to follow him to the ends of the galaxy.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Here comes one of the more intense chapters! To my reviewers and subscribers, I can't thank you enough! Love you all :)**

 **Chapter 11**

 **Starkiller**

For the third time in as many days, Vara flew through hyperspace ready for battle. They still had to wait for Han, Finn, and Chewie to get the shields down, but the squadron had their trajectories. All they were waiting for was the okay from base. They hovered silently, the radio all quiet, the tension palpable. For the thousandth time, Vara checked her missiles, making sure she was fully loaded and primed.

"Roger, Base," Poe said over the comms. His voice was stoic and calm. "Red squad, Blue squad, take my lead."

"Dropping out of lightspeed," Vara replied, her team following close behind. The planet they were closing in on was snowy and mountainous, reminding Vara of the mountains of Hosnian Prime. One of her first flights had been over those mountains. She pushed the fighter forward, the memory only encouraging her.

"Almost in range," Poe called out. The excitement was definitely building in his voice. "Hit the target dead center, as many runs as we can get!"

"Approaching target," Wexley said. The teams extended their foils, creating the signature 'X' with their wings. A huge hexagonal platform was on the ground before them, almost inviting them to fire on it. Vara was completely dialed in, going into flight mode. Something about the world around her changed when she entered the battlefield, as if there was nothing outside those boundaries and all that mattered was the task at hand. She had really noticed it for the first time when she'd encountered her first set of pirates with the Rapiers in Mirrin airspace. Poe called it her 'sky zone.'

"All right, let's light it up!" Poe signaled, and the X-wings all sent out their first round of heavy missiles on the oscillator. Vara sent hers off and pulled up, flying dangerously close to the surface. They were going down as close as they could to ensure accuracy.

"Direct hit!" she cried, glancing behind her to see where her team was.

"But no damage," Red Two protested.

"Yeah, we gotta keep hitting it," Poe replied. "Another bombing run. Remember, when that sun is gone, the weapon will be ready to fire. As long as there's light, we got a chance."

R9 squawked from behind Vara, and she looked out of her cockpit window. What she saw made her wince. "Guys, we got a lot of company!"

A full squad of TIE fighters was approaching fast. Almost like it was planned, six of the X-wings broke off and headed for them, Vara included.

"Here we go, R9," she said, flipping back over to her lasers. "Let's get 'em." Vara pulled up a little, flying just above the range of the TIEs, and as she got closer, she pushed her nose down and fired. The TIEs couldn't pull up in time to aim at her, and she took out three before dodging through the group of First Order fighters with a barrel roll. The rest of the Squadron behind her managed to shoot down five more before having to loop back around.

"Take notes, kids," Poe called out. "That's how it's done!"

Vara's adrenaline surged as she turned tightly to face the fighters again. "Make another pass as soon as you can," she called over the comms. "Take out as many as we can, let them take shots on the oscillator."

"Roger, Red One," the squad replied. Turning to face the swarm of TIE fighters, Vara angled to make a loop around them, aiming about halfway through the group. The good thing about the First Order was that they were predictable. The TIEs usually stayed grouped together, easy to maneuver around and to aim at. They were easier to shoot down in greater numbers, but they were harder to break apart and single out. Vara liked to try and cut one out of the herd, but it was nearly impossible with this many.

"Arlo's been hit!" Red Three cried.

"Watch out for ground fire," Blue Leader called.

"Red Leader, can you take out those cannons?" Poe asked. "I need you to do it fast."

"On it," Vara replied. She pulled up and gained altitude, waiting just a moment for the ground cannons to find other targets before diving back down. She trusted her fliers to be able to avoid them while she locked on and took them out while they were focused elsewhere, greatly lowering her chances of being taken out herself.

Another X-wing was taken down just as she started spiraling downwards, firing at the cannons. That was five of her comrades so far. This was not going as well as she'd hoped. Something drastic was going to have to happen or they were done for.

Making a loop around the oscillator, Vara shot out the ground cannons, firing exactly twice at each of them. She'd destroyed seven out of the nine that she'd spotted when she began to notice the darkness. It was creeping in slowly, taking away the glint of the snow and making it just a little harder to spot the TIEs. The sun above them was fading dangerously quickly.

"All units, fire on the oscillator! We need that thing taken out now!" Poe shouted. Vara swooped upwards and made a pass at the hexagon, switching back to her own bombs. As she got closer, a huge explosion erupted from the inside of the structure.

"There's some damage, but not enough," she said. "Keep going!" She shook her head as a drop of sweat fell from her brow. "Come on," she growled under her breath. She shot down a passing TIE fighter as she headed for the oscillator again, ducking past Poe's ship in the blink of an eye. A moment later, and she heard R9 cry out again.

"Damnit," she said, looking behind her and seeing the three TIEs that R9 had yelled about. "I have three on my tail," she called, looking for help.

"On you, Red Leader," Wexley called back, and she saw his blue-lined X-wing pull behind her. He took out one, then another, but was not quite fast enough to get to the last one before one of its lasers brushed the back of Vara's ship.

"I'm hit," she said, flipping off alarms and diverting power from the bottom two engines. "Not bad. Losing power faster than normal. Otherwise I'm fine," she called over the radio. "Good to keep going."

"Keep an eye on it, Red Leader," Poe responded.

"Don't worry about me," she said. "Let's keep hitting that target." She fired another set of bombs, plunging through a fireball as she pulled up again.

"We just lost Red Two," Wexley said.

"We're overwhelmed," Red Three responded nervously. "What do we do? It isn't working," she said.

Vara pulled around, checking where all of her remaining fliers were. She spied something, done by the internal explosion from a few moments before. "Black Leader, there's a brand new hole in that oscillator. Looks like our friends got in." She thought of Han, Finn and Chewie, wondering if they had found Rey yet, wondering if they were even still alive.

"Red Four, Red Six, cover us," Poe ordered. "Everybody else, hit the target hard. Give it everything you've got!"

Vara fell in behind Poe, heading straight for the oscillator. The power supply for her ship was running low, going on one-third of what it should have been. This run was going to be the last one they got either way. They dove towards the breach, funneling into a straightaway that led into the oscillator. Vara dodged the lasers from the inner cannons with difficulty, reacting as faster than she thought she could but only just in time. The pilot behind her wasn't fast enough, and before Red Four could take out the cannons, he was shot down. Vara fired a set of lasers just underneath Poe's ship, sending them straight past him and into the final cannon.

"All teams," their Commander said over the radio. "I'm going in. Pull up and cover me."

Vara's heart fluttered. He was preparing to go into the actual oscillator and take it out once and for all. There was no way of telling if he would come out again.

"Copy that, Black Leader," Vara responded. There was so much she wanted to say, more than she could even think of, but no room to say it. "Good luck, Poe."

As ordered, she pulled up and nearly ran head-on into a TIE fighter, managing to fire on pure instinct and blast it before she flew through the explosion. She focused forward, giving chase to each TIE she saw and taking it out. Six had fallen to her lasers when she saw a huge fireball spit from the oscillator. For a moment, she flew slowly forward in awe, waiting. Relief flooded her when she saw the black ship spin up and out of the structure, trailing a bit of smoke that faded into the cold sky around it.

"Yes, Poe!" she cried, accelerating forward and chasing another fighter down. She followed him upwards, the rest of their team behind them, as the oscillator exploded in a final, huge blast that blinded her for just a moment. As they started away from the planet, multiple explosions began to erupt from the surface, breaking down the weapon.

Following Poe closely, the team came up out of the planet's atmosphere and back into space. The planet behind them began to crumble.

"All teams, I got eyes on them," Poe called when he spied the Millennium Falcon.

"Yes!" Wexley cried with relief. Vara cheered and R9 whistled with joy, his worry disappearing for a moment, before giving Vara a readout of her power supply and damage.

"Running low on power, Black Leader," she said, giving Poe an update as the planet began to break down. "I'm going to make it away from the planet but not to hyperspeed. It's my thrust engines. Two of the four are out. I have to hang back for now and call for pickup."

"Blue Leader," Poe signaled. "Take them back. I'll stay with Red Leader. My job's done here."

"Copy, Poe. See you back at base."

The other five X-wings followed the Millennium Falcon into hyperspace, stretching and disappearing.

"Are you sure you don't want to go celebrate with them?" Vara asked. She knew that was the first thing she wanted to do. Being there when everyone landed after a mission as spectacular as that one was the best reward anyone could get.

"It's all right. There's already a freighter en route to get us. With any luck we'll be there ten minutes after they land." Poe voice had finally relaxed. Vara reminded herself that she could do that, too. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"R9, want to take control?" The droid beeped an affirmative, and Vara ran her hands under her visor and rubbed her eyes. "Poe, we did it. You did it," she sighed, shaking a little.

"Come on, we did it," he said. "I couldn't have gotten in there without you guys covering me. That TIE fighter you took out right there was heading straight for me."

All Vara could do was laugh, and after a second, Poe joined her. They laughed together for a moment, letting out all of the stress and tension and anxiety. They were the only two ships in visual range, seemingly alone in space. The feeling was strangely comforting.

"Look, there it goes," Vara said between breaths. Starkiller base finally exploded, the blast brilliant in the blackness of space. Vara watched the orange and yellow fire curl around itself, taking a deep breath. It didn't heal the pain she felt at the loss of her family - nothing ever would - but it felt damn good.

"Oddly beautiful," Poe said quietly.

"Not oddly. It's beautiful to see that thing gone," she replied. "But you're right. It's captivating. It goes without saying, but I'm glad you made it out of there, Poe," she added.

"I was so scared when I saw you get hit, Vara."

"You saw that? It was just a graze, honestly, but I'm pretty sure it managed to take out my bottom two thrusters."

"Yeah, I saw it. I almost had a heart attack."

"Come on, you would have finished without me," she scoffed. "But thank you. I think I held my breath the whole time you were in that oscillator." Just like that flight back from when they stole the _Hevurion Grace_ , she had to remind herself to relax her muscles. "I can't believe we did that, Poe."

"We did it, though. We always come through," he said proudly. He pulled his ship alongside hers, waving a little through the cockpit windows.

"Close as we can get right now, huh?" she said with a sigh.

"Just you wait until we get out of these ships. Speaking of which." A small freighter popped into the space before them, beckoning.

"Black Leader, Red Leader, come in," a familiar voice echoed over the radio.

"Iolo! It's so good to hear you over that radio!" Vara cried. "I missed you!"

"Hey, Kilo, you get yourself shot?"

"Don't start with me, Arana," she said, angling into the freighter's hangar and pulling in slowly. "Do I have to remind you how many times I've saved your ass?"

"No, ma'am," he replied smoothly. "I'll meet you in here and you two can tell me all about it."

Vara landed, hit the release for R9 and popped open the cockpit, pulling off her helmet. The air had grown stale in her ship and she breathed deeply through her nose, taking in the oxygen that didn't taste like her own sweat and recycled air. She climbed up and out of the ship, stretching her legs, knees popping.

"Get down here!" Iolo said from the hangar floor. There was a big, welcoming smile on his face. They hadn't seen each other since the _Hevurion Grace_ mission because Iolo was stationed elsewhere in the system leading Dagger Squadron. Vara hopped down from her ship while Poe landed and hugged Iolo tightly around his ribs.

"Heard you guys did well."

"Ask him when he gets out. He finished it."

"Of course he did," Iolo said, rolling his eyes. "Okay, R4, you can take us out of here. They're both landed and safe," he said into his comm. The freighter shuddered a little around them as it got going again, heading back to D'Qar. "Hey, I also wanted to say I'm sorry. When I heard about Hosnian, I thought of you and Vorik and your parents…" he said, trailing off.

"Thanks, Iolo." She nudged him a little, her eyes suddenly sad. "They liked you." She really didn't know what to say to him, but her heart swelled a little when he put his hand on her shoulder.

"There he is!" Poe's voice came from the cockpit of the black X-wing. He climbed down his ladder and almost ran over to them, hugging Iolo roughly. BB-8 followed behind, chirping happily and bumping Vara on the leg. "Thanks for picking us up, man. Good to see you."

"You too, Commander. You save the day again?"

"It's my job," Poe shrugged. "Excuse me for a second," he said, suddenly wrapping his arms around Vara's waist. He leaned her back, dipping her like a ballroom dancer and kissing her, right in front of Iolo. It didn't matter that they were both sweaty and exhausted, or that they had just almost been killed. She was back in his arms, and it got better and better each time.

"Whoa, hey!" the Keshian Captain cried. "I missed something here, right?"

Vara, almost as stunned as he was, grabbed hold of Poe's flight vest as he pulled her back up. His dark eyes looked excitedly into hers, a smirk playing across his face. "I told you, just wait until we got out of those ships." He looked at Iolo with that same smirk. "We'll fill you in, bud. Got anything to drink for the flight back?"

"Let's go to the cabin." Iolo ushered them away, the ship flying smoothly in hyperspeed. "Now, tell me when this happened and why you didn't tell me immediately."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey again! This is a long one so it might be a few days until the next update. Just working on where to go from here, but I have ideas! Also, I am going to put a tracklist that I threw together that kind of goes with Poe and Vara's relationship on my profile, so if you'd like to check that out it's there. This is a good one so I'm excited to hear your feedback!**

 **Chapter 12**

 **Going Home**

The welcoming party had just begun when the freighter touched down on D'Qar. The small group of Resistance allies rolled over to them as they came down the ramp, led by Snap and Jessika. They each took Poe and Vara in a hug, followed by the few remaining members of the Red and Blue squadrons. The two of them stayed separate, much to their reluctance. For now, they had decided to keep things quiet, at least until everything settled down a bit.

General Organa made her way through the crowd followed closely by around young woman, shaking both of their hands. When Vara looked in her eyes, she saw a sadness that hadn't been there before. Glancing around, Vara saw Chewbacca easily, but his right hand man was missing. Without hesitation, Vara pulled the General into her arms. She couldn't even imagine what the older woman was going through, and yet, she could. Vara felt the General relax a little and she let her go, keeping it short.

"Thank you, Captain. I'd like you two to meet Rey. Rey, Captain Vara Hesh and Commander Poe Dameron."

"You're the one Finn saved before he landed on Jakku! BB-8's master!" the woman exclaimed, turning to Poe. "Finn said you're the best pilot he's ever seen."

Poe shrugged again. "I guess so."

"He's being modest for once." Vara shook her head. "Best pilot in the galaxy."

"Where is Finn? He came back okay, right?"

Rey's face fell. "He's not good. Alive, but in a coma. They're not letting anyone see him yet."

Poe almost visibly started. From behind him, Vara subtly grabbed his hand and squeezed.

"We'll go as soon as they let us, okay?" she said softly. She turned back to Rey. "They're very capable in the infirmary. He's in good hands."

She nodded, glancing at her feet.

"Hey, let's go have a drink," Iolo said, clapping them on the back. "You two need one."

Vara reluctantly let go of Poe's hand. "Only if you have one with us before you go back. With the whole squadron," she said as they started to make their way back to the building.

"Old time's sake, or something. After I get this grime off of me," Poe said. They fell in with the squadron, most of whom were headed to their quarters for a shower.

"That sounds like the best idea in the entire galaxy," Vara sighed.

* * *

It didn't take the squadrons long to meet back in the General's quarters after she had summoned them. They were back in their regular clothes, Poe wearing his classic khaki shirt and brown pants and Iolo with a loose red shirt and black pants. Vara had on a white t-shirt and form-fitting grey cargo pants, wearing her favorite leather jacket as always. As everyone gathered, glasses were passed around with a pour of a brilliant green liquid in each. The seven remaining pilots along with Chewbacca, Admiral Ackbar, Major Ematt, Iolo, and Rey stood in a circle, looking at each other in silence. For some, it still hadn't hit home that their most dangerous mission had been a success and that they'd taken a huge step in defeating the First Order.

The General raised her glass. "I wanted to thank you all. Without your bravery, and that of many others who are no longer here, we would never have managed to do what we did today. They are not defeated, but we hit them where it hurts, and we will not stop until they are gone. To the Resistance," she toasted.

Chewie roared as everyone clinked glasses and drank.

"Is this emerald wine, General?" the Major asked with a hint of surprise. "It's wonderful."

She nodded. "Two of the last bottles ever exported from Alderaan, aged to perfection. They were a bitch to track down. Felt like the right time to open them."

Vara stared into the glass with newfound appreciation. She briefly wondered if anything like this made it off of Hosnian Prime, but pushed the thought away. Now was not the time.

"Captain Hesh," Major Ematt said, walking regally over to her. "I have something to ask of you."

"Of course, Major," she said, standing a little straighter.

"We are already looking into people to fill our ranks again," he said. "Rather blunt, I know, but we need the numbers back if we're going to continue. Once I return from the other systems, I would like you to teach them, along with Captain Wexley."

"Me?"

"You are a Captain, aren't you?" he said with a small smile. "Your humility never ceases to amaze me. They need your expertise, Hesh. The Commander will assist, of course, but they will be mostly under your tutelage."

"I've never really taught before, but I will do my best, Major."

"Good," he said with a smile. "I think they'll learn quite a bit under you," he said.

She glanced at Poe, now deep in conversation with the Admiral, wondering even more about what was to come next for the two of them. They were still pilots for the Resistance first and foremost, but now that they had finally shown their true colors, how was it going to balance out? How much were they going to show, if anything at all? Han had guessed at something between them, and Leia could see it - who else could?

"Vara," the General said gently, breaking her from her trance.

"Yes, General?"

The older woman smiled. "For now, at least, call me Leia. Come with me for a minute."

Confused, Vara finished the last of her wine and followed her back out to the base.

"May I ask where we're going, Leia?" The name felt foreign on Vara's tongue. She had never called her that out of respect.

"Just to the civilian quarters," Leia said. "I know you've had a long few days, but I didn't want to make you wait any longer. After you'd taken off for Starkiller, he showed up on our doorstep."

Vara furrowed her eyebrows, confused. Who had shown up on their doorstep? She clasped her hands behind her back as they walked in silence, thinking. Was it someone she had known from the New Republic? Since joining the Rapiers, Iolo and Poe were the only ones left that she really _knew_. Maybe someone she had trained with? She hadn't spoken to that particular group of people since she had joined Poe's squad, much less the Resistance.

Her brow furrowed, Vara followed the General around the corner into the small lobby that was usually empty. Vara stumbled to a halt, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. Her brain didn't believe what her eyes were seeing after she'd already come to terms with the destruction of her home planet. The lone figure stood from his chair, dropping the holopad from his lap.

"Vorik," Vara whimpered, her voice breaking. She stumbled to her younger brother, embracing him for the first time since he'd visited Mirrin years ago. He stayed silent, burying his face in her hair, holding her as tight as he could. She was crying again, tears wetting the still-pristine Senate jacket he wore. After a moment, she leaned back to look at him, her hands on either side of his face. He suddenly looked nothing like the young man she'd known, but a sorrowful and weary version of him. The thought made her chest tighten.

"How?" she asked softly, bringing him into a hug again.

"I was on Chandrila, wrapping up some of the final business of transferring the capital," he murmured. "We were flying back when we got the news."

She nodded against him. "We were flying too. We've been just going and going since I heard and haven't had a chance…" Glancing behind her, she saw that General Organa had vanished. Leaving them to their reunion, she assumed.

"To really think about it?" he finished for her. "I know what you mean. I'm one of the last people left that was even associated with the Senate. I'm assuming this happened on one of those flights?" he asked, examining the side of her face.

"Yeah, it did. I'll tell you about it in a bit. I can't even imagine what you're dealing with right now." She looked at him in awe. When she was twenty years old, she was still learning the ins and outs of all the different planes of the New Republic fleet, learning flight tactics and figuring out where she really belonged. Even three years later, when she had been promoted to Lieutenant, she had been sure they'd made a mistake. Vorik had clearly developed a maturity that it had taken Vara years to learn. "I'm proud of you, Vorik."

"Who do you think I looked up to all these years? Besides them, of course," he said, looking at the floor. "And if what they're saying about that base is true, that you and a few others destroyed it, then I'm the one that should be proud."

"We did," Vara said, her face hardening. "I don't regret it. There were a lot of people on that base, and by neutralizing it we may have killed a lot of them...but the billions of people in the Hosnian system…" She shook her head. It was something that had been in the back of her mind since watching the station explode in brilliant fire against the black backdrop of space.

"Don't guilt yourself," Vorik said softly. "You did the right thing for the Republic. For the galaxy. And no matter what Chancellor Villecham thought about the Resistance, I am grateful that you took action when no one else would. They say that whomever had the gall to steal Senator Ro-Kiintor's ship delivered the information to the Resistance because they had more faith in their abilities than the Republic's."

Before she could stop herself, Vara began to laugh. For one, she was glad that no one had been able to trace their involvement in the theft, but the thought that people around the galaxy were spreading rumors about their antics was too much.

Vorik looked confused for a moment, and then it dawned on him. "Vara, you...you?!" he barked.

"Not just me," she said through her laughter. "It was mostly Poe, and we helped him get away with it, but you can't tell anyone, all right?"

He stared at her, shaking his head slowly. "There were people talking about hunting you down and trying you for treason," he mused. "Until the data came out, of course, but still."

"And did those people know that we were nearly killed because the First Order was the first to respond to his distress signal? With almost enough ships to invade somewhere like Naboo? Those people didn't know how close that one was," she spat, suddenly angry again. "It was clear that they were willing to obliterate that ship before they let us get that information." Closing her eyes, she paused to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Vorik. It's just hard to imagine everyone so...blind to what was really going on. Kylo Ren tortured Poe, Vorik. They're not playing games."

"I understand, Vara. I'm sorry you have had to fight so hard to make us see what was you knew all along." He hugged her again. Vara couldn't get enough of it, not after thinking he was dead. She could hug her brother forever. "How is Poe?"

If there was anything that could melt her anger, it was the thought of Poe. "He's...he's been through so much in the last few days," she sighed. "The First Order captured him. A Stormtrooper helped him escape, they crashed on this desert planet, and I went to rescue him. And that was before we flew on Takodana, and then we flew on Starkiller Base. It's been a hell of a time."

"How are you still walking?" Vorik asked incredulously.

"The same way you can sit through a whole week of caucuses and meetings and senate hearings. We were meant to," she replied with a small smile. "Are you hungry? I think there are people I'd like you to meet and some who'd like to see you again. Come on," she said, taking his hand and leading him away. "Plus I think I can get you quarters in a less lonely part of the base. If you're all right bunking with all of the Resistance goons," she teased.

"I think I'd like to meet these goons, if General Organa was any indication of the way things are done around here."

"She's something else, isn't she? You should meet…" she trailed off. Han hadn't come back from Starkiller Base, and was never going to. So much had changed so quickly that she didn't even remember half of it.

"Who?"

"I'll fill you in later," she said. "We have a lot to talk about." They trotted down a flight of stairs and Vara led him towards the cantina, where most of them had probably gone after the small meeting in the General's quarters. The emerald wine had a lovely effect of making her feel lighter on her feet than she should have, especially after sleeping about 4 hours in the last 48. She knew that she was going to crash soon, but not yet.

In the hallway coming from the cantina, Vara spotted Poe and Iolo. They were discussing something, Poe gesturing wildly. Iolo stood with his hands on his hips, nodding. It was a good summation of the two: the calm one who took everything in and the one who was enthusiastic about everything and raring to go.

"Same as ever, I see," Vorik said.

"A few things have changed, but yes. Poe!" she called, grinning. The two looked over at them, and Poe's jaw dropped. Iolo's eyes grew wider, if it were possible.

"No way!" he cried, running over to them and taking a surprised Vorik in a hug. "I don't know how, but I'm glad. You need anything, Vorik, you come to me, okay?"

"Thank you, Poe. It's good to see you again."

Poe clapped him on the shoulder, a huge smile on his face. He turned back to Vara, taking a step closer to her. "The Major tells me he's putting the training of the new recruits in your hands."

"Mine and Wexley's, I hope, but yes. I don't know why they're not having you do it, honestly."

"He trusts you, Vara. We all do, you know. You're going to do well, I know it." He looked into her eyes for a moment, making Vara blush madly. They hadn't gotten the chance to talk about anything yet, and she still wasn't sure quite what they were, but now there was time. "I need something to eat after that wine," Poe said. "Want to come with us, Vorik?"

"Of course," he said with a smile. The young man's sorrow had faded a little and he looked more like Vara's younger brother again. She looped her arm through his on their way to the cantina, Poe flanking her other side. The Commander's hand brushed hers a little, just barely, and her blush returned. He seemed to understand that there was time to talk later, that now she was just reveling in the fact that she hadn't lost her brother after all.

"So, Vorik, what's next for you?" Iolo asked when they had gotten their food and sat down at a round table in the lounge.

"I'm not sure yet," he said through a bite. "Sorry. It's just been a while since I've sat down to eat."

"Don't worry. Us too," Vara said, biting into a muja fruit.

Vorik looked down at his plate for a moment. "I'm not sure what's next. I spoke with General Organa a little, and she's very knowledgeable. I have some ideas, but what probably comes next is contacting whomever is left from the planets represented in the Senate and building it up again."

Vara shook her head. "He got the brains in the family. And the patience."

"Yeah, I can tell," Iolo joked.

Vorik shook his head. "Please. I can't even begin to fly one of those ships, never mind the way you guys do."

"One of these days I'll take you up in a double. Show you how it all works."

"I'm telling you," Poe said, using his fork to point at Vara and Iolo. "We have to get a hold of one of those TIE fighters. It was crazy. The one Finn and I took had two seats, a pilot and a gunner. When did they start making those?"

"You flew one?" Iolo spat. "Man, there has been a lot of shit that went down without me knowing in the last few days."

"The acceleration is insane. They could work on them, maybe fix one up and make it handle better. We have to get one," he said again.

"You have to come up with a reason to go take one. Reconnaissance on First Order bases or something. More than just identifying enemy technology," Vara said, leaning back in her chair. With food in her stomach, she was quickly losing energy. The last few days caught up to her all at once, and her eyelids drooped a little. "I hate to be the first one down, but I'm about to pass out at this table," she yawned.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Iolo said with a smirk.

"The only time that ever happened was when I tried keeping up with you," Vara groaned. "Last thing remember about that night was dropping a little glass into a big glass and chugging it with you."

"That's a good point to quit remembering," Iolo said, a wistful look in his eyes.

"Either way, I'm out. Vorik, is it okay if I get you situated in a new room after a nap?"

"I was planning on talking to General Organa about a few things anyways. She said to find her when we were done," he replied.

"Look at you, getting connections already," Poe mused. "I'll walk you back, Vara."

"Okay. See you guys later, then. Iolo, if you're gone when I wake up, I'll give you a call, okay?"

"Good plan, Kilo-Nine. Sleep tight."

Vara and Poe walked slowly back to the barracks, stopping in front of her quarters.

"Poe, I can't believe it."

"You will when he's here after you wake up," he said, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile. "He's a good kid."

"Better than I am, in different ways," Vara said through a yawn.

"That was cute, but I'm gonna let you sleep," Poe murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "We'll talk later?"

"Yes, we will. You should sleep too."

"Believe me, I'm going to," he sighed. "Goodnight, Vara." He kissed her on her bruised temple gently before turning and heading towards his own room. She watched him walk away, his shoulders high, hair tousled, stride jaunty. After everything they'd been through, he was still optimistic, still ready to take on the galaxy for the greater good.

Smiling to herself, Vara went inside and shut the door behind her, undressing for bed. Her joints ached and her brain was fuzzy, but in the most pleasant way. It had been the most trying time of her life the last three days, but worth every moment. When she laid down, everything in her cried in relief, and she was asleep within minutes.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this took a little while to post. It's been a long week and it looks like they might be getting longer. If there's any consistent delay in getting chapters up, I'll let you know. Also just a note: I will be using military time throughout this chapter, so for anything that says 0700, it reads as 'oh-seven-hundred.' Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who had reviewed, followed, and favorited! I am so grateful for all of you! As always, I only own Vara, and not any of this amazing Star Wars stuff.**

 **Chapter 13**

 **Old Friends**

The next week went by in a blur. In a miraculous development, the R2 unit that had been in low-power mode awoke and came forward with the missing piece to the map that BB-8 had carried through the galaxy. Rey, the young woman that had helped Finn escape from Jakku and developed strong powers of her own, was off in the Millennium Falcon to find Luke Skywalker. The General was running everything everywhere, having meetings with the Admiral, contacting anyone she could find that had helped form the New Republic and could help do it again. On some level she was racked with anxiety about her brother, but she kept a cool head and handled her business like she always did. The Major was out traveling the galaxy, finding pilots and soldiers left on any base he could get to. General Organa flew out with him after a few days, helping the cause. New recruits began arriving to D'Qar quickly. Word had spread about their successes like wildfire, and it made them all look like heroes. Every time a shuttle came back from wherever the Major had been searching, Vara and Wexley were there to greet them, beginning to learn names, positions, and abilities of the new recruits. Each time a group of pilots arrived, they went up on a short run around D'Qar to assess their flying skills.

The Major had also gotten contacts for Vorik, people who had also been associated with the New Republic Senate that could help him put something back together. The young man had been in meetings and communication sessions constantly, checking in with Vara as often as he could. For now, he was staying on D'Qar as things got put back together, but soon, there was going to be more to do elsewhere. Vara wasn't excited for that day to come, but she was going to handle that when it came.

On the fourth night after they returned from the assault on Starkiller Base, Vara couldn't sleep. It wasn't like before, where she'd had a dream and couldn't stop thinking about it. She laid in bed for hours, tossing and turning, staring up at the ceiling. She was just restless. Shaking her head, she sat up, stretching out her legs.

"This is useless," she grumbled. She'd been in bed since midnight, but it was now 3:30 and she hadn't slept much more than half an hour. The way she looked at it, if she was going to be awake, she might as well do something useful. Throwing on a pair of pants and a sweater, she made her way down the hallway and through the base to the workshop.

"R9?" she said quietly. From where he rested next to BB-8, the droid lit up and whistled softly, hobbling on his wheels a little.

"How about we get some of that grime out of your circuits? I haven't taken the electrical cleaner to you in a while."

He hummed appreciatively and wheeled over to one of the tables. Vara grabbed a rag and some electronics cleaner, an alcohol-based solution, as well as some small cotton swabs. She sat on the cold concrete floor of the workshop, patting the space in front of her. "Right here, bud." She loved spending this quality time with R9, even though for most of it he was powered down. Taking care of her droid was a priority to her, sometimes even above herself. Screwing open the panel on the front of R9's barrel-shaped body, she took a slow, deep breath and began the detailed work.

From across the workshop at the opposite door, Poe leaned on the doorframe, hands in his pockets. He was in a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt, his usual sleepwear. He had been awake as well, exhausted after a long few days of deliberating and planning and constant meetings concerning the First Order, yet unable to sleep. After a while, he had heard a set of boots walk softly down the hall past his door, and he'd suddenly had a feeling that he knew who it was. He saw her through the peephole and waited a moment for her to pass before quietly following, knowing where she was headed already. If there was a workshop around and Vara had some free time, she was there.

She was sitting on the floor, her legs splayed out in front of her, leaning forward to clean out R9's lower front panel with a small cotton swab. The can of electronics cleaner was on the floor next to her with a rag. It was a classic picture, one that he had seen Vara in many times. This time, though, he saw her in a bit of a new light. Not that he hadn't found her attractive before - from the first day she had walked into that hangar on Mirrin Prime, he thought she was absolutely beautiful - but now there was a whole world of possibilities that had opened up.

He saw another light come on a few meters from her and a small whistle echoed in the workshop, one he would've recognized in his sleep. BB-8 came out of his hibernation mode and rolled over to Vara, beeping happily.

"Don't worry, buddy, you're next. Been a while, huh? At least we got all that sand and dirt out of you already." Vara had spent at least two hours with BB-8 a few days ago, taking his panels off and getting in every nook and cranny with pressurized air, finding every grain of sand and speck of dirt that could have possibly worked its way in. "Couldn't let you roll around like that." The droid beeped back at her and rolled over to look at the electrical cleaner. As he passed behind her, he spotted Poe, who already had a finger to his lips. He wanted to stay hidden, at least for another minute or two. Vara was getting a rare moment to herself, and he was going to let her have it as long as he could. BB-8 turned away, inspected the electrical cleaner and hummed at Vara as she worked, showing no sign of seeing the Commander. Poe let her finish the panel she was working on and replace it before slowly ambling over to her.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

She started, twisting around in her spot to look up at him. "Damn it, Poe. You scared me. What is it with you and sneaking up on me in the workshop?"

"You just zone out in here. Anyone would have scared you."

She shrugged. "I suppose."

"Do you want some water or something? I don't want to interrupt you, especially since you were about to work on my droid next."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "How long have you been there?"

"Not too long."

She looked at him, here eyebrows raised expectantly. "I know you better than that."

"Okay, I heard you walk past my room. I may have followed you."

"I figured." She smiled at him. "I'll come with you to get water, actually. Be right back, okay, guys?" she said to the droids, standing up and wiping her hands on the rag. BB-8 whistled at them, wiggling a little.

"Yeah, yeah, hush. You'll get your turn," Poe scoffed. "I get some time with her first."

Vara blushed again. That was happening a lot more recently, and all because of Poe. They still hadn't gotten to talk at all yet because things had been so busy. Of course it would end up being 4 o'clock in the morning before they could actually be alone.

They walked in silence for a moment towards the cantina, taking in the base at its most calm. They usually never saw it like this. It was always going crazy with activity, but now it was all quiet, the hallways empty. There were always a few people on watch around the perimeter, and everyone else would be getting up soon, but at the moment, even the Admiral was asleep.

"You and Wexley doing all right getting things together?" Poe asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just trying to decide on what to teach first. We have to figure out where they're at and go from there. They probably already know a lot from the Republic but there's always more that they're going to need."

Poe nodded. "There could be a whole semester on 'Flying like Vara Hesh 101,'" he teased.

"Oh, come on. What about 'Bravery 201 with Poe Dameron'?"

He laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. It felt so natural, so comfortable when no one else was around. They walked like that to the empty cantina, each getting a glass and filling it with water from one of the sinks. It had been a long time since they had time alone, never mind time where almost no one else was even awake, the quiet sounds of nighttime on D'Qar their only company. Chugging the glass of water, Vara looked at Poe, who was simply gazing at her.

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Just thinking."

Suddenly, she had an idea. "Come on," she said, taking his hand. Earlier that day, she and Wexley had explored the classroom area, and that had given her an idea. Poe came along complacently, prepared to follow her to the end of the planet if she led him there. After a minute they came to the eastern side of the base, lined with information storage rooms and the classrooms, where Vara and Wexley would be doing part of their training with the new recruits. "Here," she said, turning into a small hallway that led to a door. "I don't know why this is here, but there's a balcony. Doesn't look like anyone uses it." She opened the door and cool air rushed to meet them, the twilight before dawn beautiful on the green planet. The third-floor balcony was maybe 8 feet square, looking out over a few satellite dishes and into the dense forest that the base backed up to.

"Wow. No one knows this is here?"

"I didn't, at least. I don't think Snap does. Maybe General Organa, because of course she knows everything, but I cleaned a lot of dead leaves off of it earlier today, however they got all the way up here."

Poe stepped forward and leaned on the railing. Vara watched his ribs expand under his t-shirt as he took a deep breath and saw the goosebumps rise on his arms as a breeze rolled past, ruffling his hair a little. She walked up next to him, running a hand over his arm, his skin warm at her touch. Turning so her back was against the railing, she leaned back, studying his expression. He edged closer to her, slipping his arm around her waist.

"Poe," she said softly. "Why did this take us so long?"

"I'm not really sure," he replied, looking back out over the forest. "I think both of us put other things first. The New Republic came before our needs, and then the Resistance...work always happened instead. Not that I didn't think about it."

"I'll admit I did too," she said shyly. "I think you're right. We were too busy to consider it."

"Can we consider it now?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

"I...I would like that. A lot," she stuttered. Poe started laughing, pulling her closer.

"Don't laugh at me!" she exclaimed, laughing a little herself. "I just...I think it's always been you, in a way. But I never knew how to say it."

He kissed her gently, just above the bruise on her temple. "Can I tell you something?"

"Of course," she murmured.

"When your parents visited Mirrin a few years ago, your dad pulled me aside. He thanked me for looking after you. At first I said you didn't need looking after, that you could definitely take care of yourself. He said not like that. Looking after you like he looked after Kanna, like my dad looked after my mom. He called them by name. Said they knew each other better than they ever told us. I think that's when I knew. I didn't even realize it, but he saw it. I've always cared for you. More than anyone else I've flown with. More than anyone I've ever known."

She kissed him this time, closing the tiny gap between them and putting a hand on his chest. His arm tightened around her, pulling her to him. One of his hands snuck under her sweater, brushing the warm skin on her back. After a long moment, he pulled away just a little, keeping his hold on her.

"That gets better every time," he said with his usual smirk.

"You're telling me," Vara replied, a little breathless. She really didn't know how to take all of this except for just going with it. It had been so long since she even thought of anything romantic that now it was almost foreign. She knew that Poe had dated a few women over the years, none of them lasting very long. When his squadron asked why they had stopped seeing each other, he always told them that he worked too much or that it was nothing serious, shrugging it off.

"When do they expect you at the hangar tomorrow?" Poe asked, leaning on the railing again but keeping his grip on her waist.

"0730. New recruits get in at nine and we're flying at 1000. Snap wants to get all ten flight checks out of the way before they arrive."

"Ten? Wow. A lot this time."

"It's good, huh? Lots of new pilots. Hopefully they fly well, or it's going to be a long process," she sighed.

"Want to head back to my quarters for a nap? Since it's probably almost 0430," he said.

"That sounds reasonable," she said, running her hand over his arm again. "I feel like I'd sleep well with you next to me."

"Or not sleep at all," he said with a wink.

"Oh no, Poe," Vara said, rolling her eyes. "Don't get me started."

"Fine, not now," he signed dramatically. "Don't worry, though," he murmured, leaning in next to her ear. "We'll get some _real_ alone time soon."

Goosebumps covered her skin and her breath caught in her throat. "We need to head back," she said. "That or the whole forest is going to see us."

Poe grinned, grabbing hold of Vara's hand like he would never let go. "After you."

* * *

The shuttle came in slowly, landing across from the line of X-wings at the outdoor hangar. This was going to be one of the last shuttles of new recruits to get to D'Qar. The Major had radioed ahead and told them that there were ten this time, a decent amount for just visiting two systems As before, Vara and Wexley were waiting for them in their jumpsuits, since the major said they were mostly pilots.

"Where did the Major say these guys came from? Bespin and Hoth?" Wexley asked.

"No, that was the last group. I think this one's from Naboo."

Led by Major Ematt, the ten new recruits lined up in front of the Captains. Every once in a while, there would be a few women in the groups but not today. Vara always liked seeing more women in the ranks, but for now, they'd take who they could get. As long as they were committed and worked hard, they would fit in.

"Welcome to D'Qar," Vara said, starting off as she always did. "I know you weren't told where you were going when you boarded that shuttle, but you're here now. This will be your new base of operations. I'm Captain Hesh, and this is Captain Wexley. We're told that most of you are pilots."

"All but one, Captain," the Major said. "Lieutenant Rasso will be one of our new Head Technicians."

"Lieutenant Rasso?" Vara said with a grin. The man stepped forward from the back, the grin echoed on his face.

"Good to see you again, Captain," he said gleefully. For about four years during their training, Teran Rasso had been Vara's next door neighbor in the barracks and one of her best friends. Vara bit her lip to stop herself from getting too excited.

"You too, Lieutenant." They had both been promoted since they last saw each other, the day that Vara had been transferred to Rapier Squadron seven years earlier. "We have a lot of catching up to do. The rest of you, we'll be doing an introductory flight in an hour. The Major will take you to your new barracks where you can change. Report back to us here at 1000 hours," she said to the group. "Welcome to the Resistance, gentlemen."

The Major and Captain Wexley led them all away towards the base, except for Teran. He turned back towards Vara and they attacked each other in a hug.

"So this is where you've been!" he exclaimed. He was one of the most intelligent people Vara had ever met, thoughtful and always trying to look at things from all the angles. A few inches taller than her, he was also one of the skinniest people she'd ever known. He was 5'10" and couldn't have been more than 130 pounds soaking wet. He was almost as pale as Vara, and some people had even confused them as siblings, the only major difference being Teran's dark hair.

"Only for, what, seven months? Were you stationed on Naboo?"

"Yeah, I was there for about four years. I was the main technician for Corona Squadron."

"Look at you! Corona Squadron, huh? They're more famous than Rapier! Why'd you join the Resistance? It doesn't pay as much as the New Republic, especially for the best technician in the business," she said, elbowing him.

"I heard what you all did. It made it real. The threat of the Order, I mean. I'd been looking into them a little but then I heard about what happened to Hosnian system and then the assault on Starkiller Base. Were you flying in that one?"

"I was. I'm the leader of the Red Squadron. Captain Wexley is Blue Leader, and then there's the Commander. Poe Dameron. I flew with him in Rapier Squadron. He led the assault. There were twelve of us that flew on the base. I'll have to introduce you to Poe soon," she said with a small smile.

"Do I see a blush? Is he attractive?" Teran was openly bisexual, and there had definitely been a few times that he and Vara had stayed up late talking about men.

"I certainly think so," Vara said, her voice hushed. "We kind of have a...thing. But you can't say anything. No one really knows yet."

Teran nodded, a finger to his lips. "I'm excited to meet him. Speaking of, did you see who else was here?"

"Who? I couldn't really see all of you in that group. I didn't even see you until you stepped forward, honestly. There have been almost a hundred people that joined in the past five days and Snap and I have greeted all of them."

"Well, a certain someone was in Corona Squadron. I want to warn you, he's changed a little since he lived down the hall from us, but still the same guy."

Vara raised her eyebrows. "Really? Elias was in that group just now? Why didn't he say anything?"

"He was probably as stunned as I was to see you. You were the last person we expected to see after you left."

Vara nodded, glancing down at her feet. Her departure had been very sudden. They had given her 4 hours to decide, and she had been gone by the next morning. "That's true. I haven't been very good at keeping in contact."

"Nor have we," Teran said with a shrug. "Plus, he still has that same do-or-die respect for authority. You're his CO now. Either way, we're all here now. Are you still the pilot extraordinaire I know you to be?"

"You better believe it," Vara said, putting her hands on her hips. "I've been flying constantly since we lived next door. On Mirrin Prime we went up on rounds every day, and since joining the Resistance, we've done one or two a day."

"Good. You always had potential to be one of the best," Teran replied. "What kind of droid do you have now?"

"I have an amazing R9 unit. Got him right after I transferred."

"And you keep him in good condition?"

"Teran, who do you think you're talking to? Just this morning I was going through his circuitry with cleaner and swabs."

"I expected as much," he said with a smirk.

"What about you? What do you have?"

"An R7."

"Oh, vintage! Unique, too. How many of those are still out there?"

"Not many, let me tell you. I've only seen mine."

A familiar trill came from behind her, and Vara slapped her hand to her forehead. "Teran, you're going to love this. BB-8," she called as the droid rolled smoothly over to them. "This is BB-8. He's Commander Dameron's astromech. One-of-a-kind. This guy has been through a lot in the name of the Resistance."

"Wow," Teran mused, kneeling next to the droid. "Hi. You're a cool little thing, aren't you?"

BB-8 whistled a hello, nodding at Teran before turning back to Vara and beeping at her in Binary.

"He can understand you!" she yelped. Teran laughed, standing up again. BB-8 had told Vara that "his master and her lover is on his way and would like to speak to her."

"BB-8, please have a bit of discretion. If I hadn't known Teran for years already that would be really embarrassing, okay?"

He beeped out the equivalent of a sigh and agreed before rolling back towards the base.

"Sassy, isn't he?" Teran asked, watching the droid roll contentedly away.

"You have no idea," Vara grumbled.

"Captain Hesh!"

Vara turned to see Poe jog up behind them, smiling as usual even with the lack of sleep the night before.

"Did BB-8 find you?"

"Yes, he did, and was very talkative."

Teran stifled a giggle.

"Hush," Vara said. "Lieutenant Rasso, this is Commander Dameron. Commander, this is Teran Rasso, one of the best techs in the Republic. We lived next door to each other in training. He's one of the new recruits."

"Commander," Teran said, shaking Poe's hand firmly.

"Good to meet you," Poe said easily. He had always taken the time to shake hands with everyone he met from his units, whether he was the leader of four pilots or the Commander of the entire Resistance. It was one of the things that made him an incredible leader, the figurehead that a group like the Resistance needed.

"You as well." Teran turned back to Vara, throwing her a subtle wink. "I should find the Major and my quarters. We'll talk more later, yes?"

"Of course. Good to have you here, Teran," Vara replied, waving as he jogged off. "Now, Commander, what can I do for you?" she said, giving him the smirk he wore so often.

"I had that Korrina painted on your ship again," he replied. "They got the old X-wing out of the trees on Takodana but they decided to have you keep the newer one."

Vara shrugged. "They're about the same, the way I took care of that old one, but that's good. Thank you. I missed that painting."

"I figured you did. I also just wanted to talk to you a little before those recruits came back," he said, gazing at her.

"I'm glad you did. I wish we had more time for just us," she sighed.

"There's always 0400 at that balcony," Poe joked. glancing behind her. Vara turned to see Snap walking swiftly towards them.

"Seems like that'll be the only time," she grumbled.

"I'll message you when I'm done tonight, all right?" he said. "We can relax for a little while. See you, Captain," he said as Snap came into earshot.

"Commander," she replied. "Thanks for the update on the ship."

"Hey, Commander," Snap said as Poe passed him. "Ready to fly, Hesh?"

"As always, Wexley. Let's get final checks finished and wait for those rookies."


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Back with another chapter!Figuring out where to go with this next, since I can go pretty much anywhere with it...this will be fun ;) I appreciate my reviewers so much! Thank you to sarahmichellegellarfan1, Junjuyil, and heroherondale to name a few! Every time I get one, I peek at it while I'm at work and get all excited. So thank you all! Same as always...I only own Vara.**

 **Chapter 14**

 **Complication**

"All right, gentlemen, this flight is basically showing us what you can do up here. We have a few scrap targets floating around in the area. Snap and I will call out formations and observe for the most part. Don't be worried if you don't know a few of them. The Resistance has put into play some old stuff that some of you may not have learned. Again, I'm Red Leader, Captain Wexley is Blue Leader. We know that this isn't the same as flying against real ships, but there's time for that in the simulator. Let's go," Vara said through the radio. R9 beeped in excitement as they led the X-wings out of D'Qar's atmosphere and into space, calling out basic formations at first. This was an evaluation more than anything, and after a round in the battle simulator, the new pilots would be split into two groups: Training and Advanced. Snap would take the Training group and Vara would take the Advanced, running drills and learning more every day until everyone was on the same page. Some were very clearly ahead of others, like the ship that Vara was keeping her eye on in the background. Elias Corso had been in a group known as Corona Squadron, one of the most renowned flight groups since the Rebellion. Their composition had changed since the Battle of Endor, but they had a been an elemental part of that particular battle and held their standards high ever since. After doing some quick research on her datapad, Vara saw that he was promoted two years after she had been, transferring to Naboo to fly with Corona. He had a spotless record, flying consistently well and was next in line to lead the Squadron. It made Vara wonder why he had even quit the Republic fleet to join the Resistance if he was being groomed to lead his own squad of that caliber.

After about two hours of fly time, Snap called for a retreat back to D'Qar. The recruits stood in a half circle around the two Captains on the ground, sweaty and a bit tired but attentive.

"Good work, guys. We have a good idea of where you're at and we'll continue to evaluate before we start on the hard stuff. Head back to the barracks and clean up. We'll meet again at dinner." Snap gave them a nod, and the recruits turned and started back towards the base.

"Lieutenant Corso," Vara called before he could get too far away. The pilot stopped and looked back at her. Vara knew he had been avoiding her, even if it was just acting like he didn't know her. She just wanted to know why.

"Hello, Captain." He was as stoic as ever, his broad shoulders slouched just a little, chin high. At just over six feet tall, he looked down to Vara like he always did.

"It's good to see you," she prompted. "Looks like you haven't stopped improving."

"Still not as good as you are," he said. It had always been a competition for them, usually healthy. Every once in a while it would get a bit too competitive, which is when Teran would step in. It was strange to hear him admit she was a better pilot.

"I'm not the one who flew for Corona Squadron," she scoffed.

"How'd you know that?"

"Teran came to say hi," she said. "He told me he was your tech." She paused, a little awkwardly. "How have you been?"

"I'm okay. Finding...finding out what I want to do with myself."

Vara looked at him with new curiosity. When they had known each other in training, he had been happy. Quiet and observant, but happy, at least as far as she knew. In front of her now, he looked like he might never smile again. Maybe he would open up a little bit as he settled in at the new base but he seemed different. Vara had seen him act this way before, but she didn't think he would be like this forever.

"What happened?" she asked simply, cocking her head a little.

Elias looked at his feet for a moment, as if deciding whether to give her a straight answer or not. Vara waited patiently. She could have waited all day if she had to. Her old friend had changed, and she wanted to know why, and if she could help.

"You left," he replied bluntly.

That had not been the answer she was expecting. To be fair, she didn't really know what she expected, but that was not it. She kept staring at him, a little stunned, as he turned and walked away. As his footsteps walked away, another set approached her from behind.

"Keep an eye on that one," Wexley said. "He's almost as good as you are, Kilo," he teased.

"It's true," she said, still a little taken aback. "Yeah, he's good. I'm excited about these guys." Shaking it off as much as she could, she turned to face the other Captain. "What else do we have for today?"

"You haven't checked your datapad yet, have you?" he chuckled. "The General sent us both a message. Wanted us to report in when we were finished with that test flight."

"No, I haven't checked yet. Was it urgent or can we change first?"

"I'd like to change," Wexley said with a shrug. "But we probably need to hustle."

"I'll race you!" she said, leaping into a sprint back towards the barracks. She heard Snap thundering after her, shouting something about an unfair start. She knew she'd have to talk to Elias about what he meant eventually, but after that strange encounter, she needed a little distraction. Like a lot of things in her life, now was not the time.

* * *

Vara and Snap walked into the General's office, having changed into their regular clothes and cleaned up a bit. The room was fairly small, even with the map wall and projector table in the middle. Poe and Vorik had already arrived, chatting idly with General Organa.

"You wanted to see us, General?"

"Good, you're here. I'm going to get right to it," General Organa said. "We may have an opportunity to interrogate Senator Ro-Kiintor."

"Really?" Poe said, placing his hands on his hips. "Wasn't he on Hosnian Prime?"

"No, they had him on Coruscant," Vorik answered. "There's a higher level security detention facility on Coruscant."

"Even with the crime rate there? Wouldn't it be easier for him to potentially get out?" Snap asked.

Vorik shook his head. "It was deliberated quite a bit, trust me. The facility on Coruscant is higher tech and there are more people available to guard it."

"Either way, he's still alive and he's still there," the General said, redirecting the conversation. "It will take a few days for us to get clearance, and another two and a half days to get there. I want us to be ready to go when they give us permission."

"Who's going?" Vara asked.

"I want it to be you and Poe."

Vara raised her eyebrows in surprise. After thinking for a moment, though, it kind of made sense. She was one of the few people who helped capture his ship, had some of the most experience with the First Order, and she was a high-ranking officer that had access to information most didn't.

"Just the two of us?" she asked. "Or will there be a bigger crew?"

"I may decide to send another pilot with you, but I need to keep at least one Captain here to continue training and sending two officers seems like the best idea. We won't be sending a huge party, but you will be traveling with Vorik, who will stay on Coruscant to help form the new government once again." A brief look of exhaustion crossed her features. Everyone knew that it had been extremely difficult putting together the first New Republic, and now they had to do it again. No doubt there were many people coming to her with questions and requests. Vara would certainly be sad to see her brother leave again, but he was starting to come into his own and make a name for himself, and she was excited to see him reach his full potential.

"Full disclosure, General," Wexley said, folding his arms. "Who was actually behind the theft of the Senator's yacht?"

Sometimes Vara didn't realize how much most people didn't know about the operation that she, Poe, and Iolo had completed. Almost no one guessed that it was even the Resistance, thanks to Poe yelling something about the Irving Boys gang upon taking the yacht. They had sworn to secrecy simply because it would make the Resistance look horrible to the public. As far as anyone knew, it was the Irving Boys and they gave the information to the Resistance after plundering the yacht.

General Organa looked pointedly at the Poe while Vorik pretended to be very interested in the holotable. Surprisingly, Poe looked at the floor, clasping his hands behind his back like he was embarrassed.

"Don't be shy," Vara scoffed. "We did. With Iolo Arana. Poe launched from the Headhunter and Iolo and I covered him. You can read the report, but the first responders were not the Republic. It was the First Order and they answered the distress signal with two Star Destroyers and a Nebulon-K. We were very close to being shot down in the process. They were ready to kill the Senator before letting us find out the truth." Vara stood tall and faced the rest of them, Han's words running through her head. _If you're good at something, don't be humble. Own it._ There had been so much controversy surrounding the theft of the Senator's yacht, but Vara was always the first to argue that the information received was worth the risk.

"You guys used Headhunters?" Wexley exclaimed. "For a mission like that?"

"You're not surprised that it was them?" Vorik said.

"Not really," Snap said with a shrug. "These two are capable of doing pretty much anything they put their minds to. Or anything their CO puts their mind to," he said offhandedly. They all knew that meant the General and her gutsy ideas. She looked smug for just a moment before her expression went back to neutral.

"I barely fit in that stupid ship," Vara grunted. "But we can always say that we outdid a First Order fleet with two Headhunters and a luxury yacht, so that'll be fun to brag about someday."

Poe was being oddly quiet. When Vara glanced his way, it seemed like he was just there to observe the conversation for a bit, sitting in on a meeting he didn't really have sway over. Vara reminded herself to catch him alone later to pick his brain.

"Anyway," the General chided, bringing them back on track once again. "I will go over more with you once we get clearance. I wanted to bring up the mission to all of you. We'll talk more about it tomorrow. Dismissed." The four of them walked out of her office and left her to her solitude.

"Well," Vorik said, breaking the short silence. "You still owe me that flight, Vara."

"Tomorrow?" she suggested. "There's a lot more to do today with the recruits."

"I'll plan on it. For now, I have to make a few calls. Love you," he said, hugging his older sister.

"Love you," she replied, turning back to Wexley. "We're making teams later, right?"

"How about after lunch?" he said. They had a pretty good handle on who would fly well with whom, and they were splitting the new recruits into fly groups that evening over dinner.

"Sounds good to me. I'll meet you in the main classroom?"

"See you then," he said and headed off to the cafeteria. That left just Poe and Vara.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly. It wasn't hard to tell that he was unnerved about something. When Poe Dameron didn't say anything during a mission plan, there was something off.

Poe shook his head. "Not here. Want to go get lunch? Eat in my room?"

Vara nodded, walking next to him to the cafeteria, talking about the new recruits. It was like a thousand conversations they'd had before, talking about whatever their flight group was doing at the moment, but after the last few weeks, they had almost grown weary. After getting a tray and taking it back to the barracks, Poe let the two of them into his quarters and sat on his bed, seeming exhausted. His tray of food was placed on his nightstand, unheeded.

"I don't know about this one," he said after running a hand through his hair. "He hasn't come forward with any information since he was captured. I'm not sure what going to interrogate him is going to do."

"Are we going to intimidate him? Tell him that we were the ones who took his ship?" Vara suddenly had a million questions. "He definitely wouldn't like that."

"I assume we'll talk about it more tomorrow." Poe shook his head. "What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think yet," she replied softly, taking a long pull of water. "I need more information."

"Is that what you said when General Organa told you to come find me on Jakku?" he said, smiling a little despite himself.

"That's exactly what I said." Vara nodded, taking a bite. "I don't know, General. He's just my Commander and my most trusted confidant. I need a little time to think about this one. Also, my first task was to find BB-8 and the map, not you," she pointed out. "I just got to you first."

He scoffed. "Your instincts led you to me first. I've always said they were flawless."

Vara raised an eyebrow. "What were flawless?" she asked skeptically.

"Your...instincts," he asserted, raising his eyebrows.

"Uh huh." Vara put her tray on the small table next to her and sidled over to him, leaning down and placing her hands on either side of his legs, her nose brushing his. "We'll get through this one too, Poe. We always do, right?"

He ran his hands down her sides, hooking his fingers in her belt loops, staring up at her. "If your flawless instincts say so, then we will."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while guys! I don't have days off anymore from work, so it's been a bit busy, but I am still totally committed to this story! I would love to see it hit 100 followers. That would be crazy to me! I love all the feedback** **you've given me and I read each and every one, even though sometimes it might not seem like I do. I appreciate you all. Here goes!**

 **Chapter 15**

 **Anticipation**

Two days later, Vara stood in one of the empty classrooms, leaning on the holotable, fixated on the projected images on the wall. Only two hours before, she had introduced the Advanced group as well as the technicians and other new recruits to the First Order high command. The projections included General Hux, Kylo Ren's right hand man, and his underlings, as well as Captain Phasma and a branch containing the fabled Knights of Ren. The Knights were still not confirmed to truly exist, but there was enough evidence to point to it. Rey had even seen them in a vision, led by Kylo himself. There was still some uncertainty about who had made it off of Starkiller Base before it was destroyed, but they could probably assume that these most important people had evacuated. Vara studied them intently, thinking about the lesson. It had been the quietest session she'd ever taught, with the fewest questions and interjections from the group. They had been studious, but also seemed...frightened. Vorik had sat in on the class, taking in as much as he could before they left for Coruscant the next day. One of his goals was to bring back as much information as he could, bringing everyone up to speed on everything that had happened to the last detail.

"You coming to get lunch?" the young man asked, standing in the doorway to the classroom, waiting patiently for his sister.

"Yeah," she said, clearing her throat. She reached down and cleared the projector, flipping it off with a wave of her hand. "Strange class today."

Vorik nodded. "Having these people in front of them makes it real. All those lives lost, and here are the people who orchestrated it in front of them. It's harsh."

Vara nodded. "They need to know. No way around it."

The cafeteria was buzzing with activity. Vara got her food and found Teran, sitting with Elias and a few other Advanced group recruits. Making her way over to them, she sat in the open chair next to Teran. The table quieted down instantly.

"Don't mind me, guys. I'm not a spy. If you can't be open with your CO, then there's an issue," she said.

"Are you open with the Commander?" Teran asked slyly. She nudged him with her knee under the table.

"I am," she said to the group. This could be an opportunity to earn their trust. "Any concerns I have, I bring them to him. I want you guys to do the same with me. I'll give you any information I can."

One of the recruits swallowed the bite he was chewing and leaned in a little. "Was the Commander really tortured by Kylo Ren?"

Vara nodded, looking down at her tray for a moment. "Yes. If they want information, they'll take it."

The table was quiet for a moment. The same recruit, named Scio if Vara remembered correctly, nodded slowly.

"They got what they wanted that time," Vara said with a sigh. "But we can't let that control what we think of them. There is a way to defeat the First Order," Vara asserted. "That's what we're all about. The Resistance is dedicated to bringing them down. There's a way, and we're going to find it."

"To answer your question from the other day," Elias said, his voice no longer hushed. "That's why I joined the Resistance. Even after Hosnian, the New Republic was looking the other way."

Scio nodded. "I want to be around people like you. People that actually take action."

"Good, because we need you," Vara replied with a smile. "I -" She was interrupted by the comm on the belt of her flight suit beeping loudly. "Sorry, guys. Probably important." When she checked the screen, she saw that it was Poe, asking her to meet him by the classrooms. "Yep, that's the Commander. I'll meet you all back at the classroom for a brief simulation drill after lunch, all right?"

They said their goodbyes as she finished her bite and took her tray back. Vara hurried to the hall full of classrooms, where Poe was leaning up against a wall, scrolling through his datapad.

"What's up?" she asked, coming to a stop in front of him and leaning over to look at his datapad screen. To her surprise, he leaned forward and kissed her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"That's what," he said with a smirk. "I knew everyone was going to be at lunch, and I wanted to see you alone before we left tomorrow."

"Right when I was in the middle of giving an inspirational speech to my new recruits!" she exclaimed dramatically.

"You give speeches at lunch? Captain tip number one: let people eat in peace," Poe said.

"Follow your own tips," Vara replied. "I didn't even get to finish my own."

"Tip number two: forsake meals in the name of romance," he teased. Vara rolled her eyes.

"Hey, why are you wearing your flight suit?"

"Taking that VCX on a test run before tomorrow. Should work fine, I just want to check it out. Why are you in yours?"

"We just came down from another training flight. We're trying to get them in the air at least three hours a day."

"How's it going? Being a teacher, I mean."

"It's actually okay," she said, shrugging. "Sometimes it's weird that these people even listen to me, but I"m just happy helping them get into the Resistance and teaching them how they can help."

Poe smiled. "I knew you were going to be good at it. Didn't I say that once?"

"More than once."

"One of these days," he murmured, turning so VAra's back was against the wall and he was pressed up against her. "I'm going to take you into one of those classrooms and -"

He stopped his sentence abruptly as they heard footsteps approach from the next hall over. As they always did, Poe tried to take a step back, but Vara felt herself tugged with him.

"What the hell?"

"Your Freitek!" Vara yelped. The life support system that Poe had on his chest had gotten caught on Vara's vest somehow, tying them together as close as possible.

"Where?"

"That thread, there, get it!" She knew that anyone who saw them would spread word around the base like wildfire. She wasn't ashamed to be with Poe by any means, but it wasn't exactly the impression she wanted to give to the recruits and her other officers.

"Be careful, this is my lucky support unit," he grumbled, fiddling with the gadget.

"Here, let me try -"

Then the footsteps rounded the corner, and of course, it was the same group that Vara had been sitting with at lunch. Teran, followed closely by Elias and Scio with a few others, stopped in their tracks, startled by the two officers. Vara could just picture how they looked, their hands on each other's chests with barely an inch between them.

"It's not what…" Vara began, trailing off.

"It's exactly what it looks like," Poe said, finally breaking the thread that held them together. "I'll see you guys out there!" he said merrily, kissing Vara on the cheek and jogging away. She just sighed.

"Well," Teran said. "That support unit certainly took your breath away, didn't it?"

"Oh my god, Teran," Vara groaned. "Go get in the simulator."

"But I'm not a pilot!"

"I don't care. That pun was awful," she said, pointing to the classroom. Giggling, Teran headed inside with Scio.

"So," Elias said as he passed Vara. "You and the Commander?"

"Um, yeah," she said, biting her lip. "We have a...thing going. We're really busy with the Resistance, but...yeah. I like him."

He nodded slowly, going inside and sitting in his seat, the brooding look on his face growing deeper.

"Great," Vara mumbled. "This is great. That won't make things weird at all."

* * *

 _It started on Coruscant. The city-planet was easily recognizable even though Vara had never been there, packed to the gills with beings of all species hurrying every direction on their own agendas. Vara was running, pushing through the packed street just behind Poe. He had her hand in his and was running as hard as he could, calling for her to keep up. Suddenly she realized that someone was chasing them, and she caught up just a little, following Poe at full speed. Her breath became haggard as they raced to the landing pad where their ship was, which was getting closer but somehow staying the same distance away. The city around them began to grow darker. Looking up, Vara saw the blackness of space closing in, as if the night sky was falling in on them. She stumbled to a stop, staring up at the stars growing bigger and bigger as the sky collapsed._

" _Come on, Vara!" Poe's voice echoed, snapping her back into action, but to was too late. She felt the hand close on her jacket and yank backwards -_

 _And then she fell into a pile of snow. The cold startled her, and she scrambled to get back onto her feet. Poe, still grasping her hand, helped her up, and they wordlessly stared into the white oblivion of a blizzard, the city-planet gone. Determined as always, Poe began to walk, leading her on just as he was on Coruscant. She followed faithfully, almost relieved that the being that had been chasing them before was gone. There wasn't much time to relax, however. The scream of a TIE fighter in the distance sent adrenaline coursing through her. They had to get off the planet immediately, but they had no ship. They were stranded in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard, and the TIE fighter's arrival was imminent. She looked at Poe, and the same dilemma was mirrored in his eyes._

" _There!" she cried, spotting a cave a hundred yards away. They began to run for it, progress slowed noticeably by the deep snow. For a moment, it looked like they were going to make it, but the TIE fighter was gaining on them, getting closer and closer until it was almost on top of them, lasers melting the tracks they had just made. They dove for cover behind a rock, almost disappearing into the deep powder. Gripping Poe's hand like she'd never let go, Vara turned to him as he spoke._

" _Vara, I love -"_

 _An arm came around the boulder and grabbed Poe, yanking him away from her. She screamed his name, taking in the image of the man in black robes that was dragging him through the snow -_

As soon as the dream had started, it was over. Vara sat upright, breathing hard, clutching the sheets in her fists. Her eyes took a moment to adjust in the darkness but as soon as they did, she grabbed a t-shirt and threw it on over her sweaty tank top. She didn't even bother with shoes before she made her way to the Commander's quarters, knocking lightly on the door. Poe had never been a heavy sleeper. Just as she predicted, he was at the door in a few seconds, hair tousled with sleep. His expression went from slightly tired to alarmed in the blink of an eye.

"What's wrong?"

"We can't go."

He took her hand and brought her inside, shutting the door behind them. "Why?"

Keeping a tight hold on his hand and sitting on his bed, she recounted the dream in exact detail. He sat next to her and listened intently, running his hand over her back, soothing her. The lamp on his bedside table was the only light, sunrise still at least a few hours away.

"This one feels like the last ones?"

"Yes. The hyperrealism, the jumping from planet to planet, the way I was pinned down when I tried to get up. It was the same feeling. And the running while holding hands...my parents were almost exactly the same in the one on Takodana."

"I hate to say this, Vara, but we have to go. The General got this set up and we need to take every opportunity to try and get to the Order."

She shook her head. "Is there any way it could be someone else?" Even as she was saying it, she knew it was impossible. There weren't enough people that had the knowledge they needed available. She and Poe were the only ones.

"I think you know the answer to that."

She nodded. "I do." With a sigh, she leaned on him a little. "Okay, we'll go. But I want an escort back, or something. Someone else so it's not just the two of us. It was just us in that dream. Maybe that'll break the pattern." Deep down, however, Vara knew that if the Force gave someone a glimpse into the future, it wasn't likely to change.

"I'll ask about it first thing. We'll either take someone else tomorrow or have someone with us on the trip back to D'Qar."

Vara sighed. "I wish that I'd have a nice dream every once in a while."

"When you do, you tell me, all right? I better be in it."

"If it's really good, then you will be." She looked out his window, staring into the darkness. The trip was now looming over her, threatening.

"Stay here with me. I don't want you to go back and sleep alone," Poe murmured, wrapping his arms around her.

"Yes, please," she said. "Though it'll probably be a while before I can fall back asleep."

"That's okay. Will being here with me help?"

She smiled, taking the sight of him in - his dark eyes filled with concern, the stubble lining his jaw, the curly mess of hair that he usually never tried to tame. "I think that'll help a lot."

Poe reached over and clicked off the light. Vara slipped her sweater off and lay next to him, an arm over his torso as she curled around him. After a few minutes, she felt his breathing change, growing slow and steady. Even with the warmth radiating off of him, she was awake for a long time, staring into the darkness, thinking about the journey ahead.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hello again! Vara and Poe are back! This is going to be more of a regular update schedule now, about weekly. I have two jobs and I work a LOT, but it's fun, and I still make time to dedicate to these two :) I hope you enjoy! Thank you, loyal readers! As always, I only own Vara. Star Wars was not my doing.**

 **Chapter 16**

 **Coruscant**

"Systems check complete. Ready for takeoff, Commander."

"Copy that, Captain," Poe said from the seat beside Vara. He glanced at her and smiled. "Nice sitting next to you in a ship, huh?"

"Co-pilots for the first time," she said excitedly. "Strap in, Vorik."

"Already am," her brother replied. His flight with Vara in the tandem X-wing a few days earlier had been a fantastic leisurely flight in her eyes and a little too much in his. He had gotten on this ship and gone straight to his chair.

"Don't worry, kid. You'll get your space legs soon," Poe chuckled.

"I will admit, I kind of pushed that tandem pretty far the other day," Vara mentioned. "This one's going to be much smoother."

"Good to hear."

"Base, this is Commander Dameron, requesting clearance for takeoff," Poe said over the comms, flipping switches and checking gauges. The pre-flight routine had been so built into both of them that they reached for the same button or switch multiple times. The VCX-100 that they were in wasn't a huge ship and neither of them had flown this particular model before, but the gist was similar to most other ships made by the Corellian Engineering Corporation. Vara briefly thought of the _Millennium Falcon_ , off in a hidden part of space with Rey, Chewie, and Artoo. This ship had been modded slightly, though not nearly as much as Han and Chewie had modded the _Falcon_.

"Base to Commander Dameron, you're all clear. Fly safe."

"Thanks, Base," Poe replied, and he flipped on the thrusters. The ship was a comfortable light freighter that fit the three of them with ease, able to take up to six passengers as well as a pilot and a gunner and extra cargo. The larger version of the ship was popular with smugglers due to its combination of speed and roomy interior, but this one Snap had salvaged from an Outer Rim auction.

"Where are the static dampeners?" Vara asked, leaning over the control panel as Poe brought the ship straight upwards.

"Let's wait to find out until the General can't discover we have them," he said with a smirk.

"Is that dampening system...legal?" Vorik asked from behind them.

"Not particularly, no."

"How can something be 'particularly' legal?"

Poe pushed the freighter forward, the acceleration living up to its reputation. Vorik fell silent, going a little more pale.

"I kinda like this," Poe said. "It's simple, but nice. Quick."

"You're going to have to let me bring her in when we get there, then," Vara said, visually taking in the control panel. All ships were different, but they were made up of the same stuff. It was just a matter of translating the knowledge she already had to this particular model. That was part of what she loved about being a pilot. Each vessel was the same on some level, but they all had their unique parts and quirks, and Vara loved learning about all of them.

"I suppose," he teased. Poe directed the ship up and out of D'Qar's atmosphere, grinning at her briefly. "Turning onto hyperspeed vector," Poe announced. They hadn't been able to bring the droids along this time, to which they had both protested annoyingly. Poe reached forward and grasped the lever. "Going into hyperspace," he announced, and through the window before them, the stars stretched into lines and lit up the cabin. The ship transitioned smoothly, shuddering slightly but nothing more.

"I do enjoy this part," Vorik murmured, staring out the window. "This view has always been one of the best."

"I agree." Vara had always liked hyperspace as well. She thought it was probably the feeling of standing still inside the ship but hurtling through space at faster than the speed of light that was so exhilarating, at least at first. "I'm going to check out the gunner position," she said, unbuckling her straps and opening the hatch a few meters behind the seats. The floor dropped away and she slid down the ladder to the gunner's cabin. The seat was directly beneath the pilot, looking out the bottom half of the half-sphere window that made up the front nose of the ship.

"How is it?"

"Pretty cool," she called back to Poe.

"I'll come down in a minute. Showing Vorik his cabin first."

Vara flipped between missiles, lasers, and ion cannons, fiddling with the settings and testing buttons. The quiet of hyperspace was sometimes unnerving, but Vara knew if they were going to be here for nearly three days, she'd have to live with it. For now, she would just immerse herself in the nuances of this new ship, finding out everything she could.

"Down here?" Vara heard Poe's voice come from above, and he found his way down the ladder to the small gunner's cockpit.

"Having fun yet?"

"Yeah, you know how much I love new ships. How's Vorik?"

"You must've shown him some real flying out there. He's a little anxious."

"He's also heading to Coruscant to be one of the leaders in the second New Republic. And he's not even twenty years old."

"That makes sense," Poe conceded. "Gives us a little more alone time, though," Poe said, leaning over the back of the gunner's chair and wrapping his arms around Vara from behind.

"Oh my gosh, Poe," Vara giggled.

"What?" he said slyly into her ear.

"Don't get me started, I swear -"

The ladder creaked behind them, and then Vara heard a small gasp. "Oh, no, I'm sorry -"

"Vorik!" Vara exclaimed, jumping a little. Poe let her go and she turned to look at her startled brother.. They kept getting interrupted. Or was it that they weren't careful enough? Probably a little of both. "Um...I was going to tell you."

"Okay," he said, turning back to the ladder. "Sorry I...yeah. I'll be up there."

"That went well," Vara sighed.

"It's probably just because you're his sister," Poe said with a shrug.

"I hope so. I know he likes you. I think we scared him," she said, chuckling.

"Pretty sure we did." Poe leaned back over her again. "This would definitely be more comfortable in one of those pilot's chairs."

"We're going to scare him even more," Vara laughed.

"He's never going to leave his room!"

* * *

The rest of the journey was just as they expected, uneventful and a bit boring. Vara and Poe had political discussions with Vorik, who didn't hide out in his room as they thought he might, even though he did look just as startled when Poe and Vara came out of the same room that first morning. Vara took her brother aside that morning and apologized for not telling him sooner.

"Well, I kind of saw it coming, but you're my sister. It was...weird."

Vara smiled, hearing for just a moment the little kid she had watched grow up. "Okay. I suppose I'll react the same way to the girl I walk in on you with someday."

"Please tell me that will never happen," he groaned.

Over the rest of the trip, Vorik taught them about the processes of the Republic, about how they might go about putting a new one together, and about the delicate process of replacing a Senator like what happened after Ro-Kiintor was arrested. Vara taught him more about ships, like the basic processes and how most of them flew. When they finally landed on Coruscant with Vara at the helm. Vorik watched over her shoulder with piqued interest. There was a transport waiting for him and another for Vara and Poe, waiting to take them to the place they'd be staying until the next day when they would interrogate Ro-Kiintor.

"Okay, Vorik." Vara stood on her tiptoes to hug her brother. "Good luck in there. I want to talk to you often, okay? Like twice a week."

"Of course, Vara." Vorik turned to Poe and wrapped the pilot in a hug. "Sorry about my reaction the other day. I just never really pictured either of you like that. Now that I see it, it makes sense, but I was just a little...thrown off." He took a deep breath. "I'll see you two soon. Love you, Vara."

"Love you too, Vorik. Good luck in there." As he got into the transport, Vara felt a wave of happiness, making her eyes well up a little.

"Aw, Vara," Poe said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm just really proud of him. Especially after...he could have fallen apart. But he didn't. He got stronger."

"So did you," Poe murmured. "Both of you did."

"Thank you, Poe. I don't know if I could've without you, you know." She took a deep breath too, looking out over the bustling city. It was exactly like she had seen in her dream, all sorts of different species and buildings and shops, the buildings towering high into the air. "Shall we go?"

Poe offered her his arm. "Yes. I'd like to see where they put us up for the night."

* * *

The building was tall, over 100 stories, with a large disc at the top of the main building and several more towers with bulbous tops. One of the higher towers held the ex-senator Ro-Kiintor, and that's where Vara and Poe were headed, dressed in their old New Republic Starfighter Command dress uniforms. The city-planet of Coruscant was built high into the sky and deep below the surface, and Vara was glad that they were going up instead of down. Being underground was never her strong suit. Their four escorts, three humans and a Chiss, surrounded them as they entered the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center, directing them into the elevator and staring silently ahead as they zipped upwards.

Vara reviewed their interrogation points in her head. They needed locations of any transmissions that were made before they had captured the ship, any places the Order had made the Senator meet them, things and materials the Senator had procured for them, how much money they had been paying him...there was a lot of information that Ro-Kiintor hadn't given up since he had been arrested. They were looking for anything, really - any information that could lead them to where the First Order was now hiding out would help.

"I wonder if he'll recognize me," Poe said idly. Vara looked at him, alarmed.

"Is there any reason he could?"

"No," Poe said, shaking his head. "I had a helmet on with masking and a voice modulator. But I still think about it," he said with a shrug. He clasped his hands behind his back, pulling his shoulders back and standing as tall as he could. Both of their uniforms had been updated to show their new ranks of Commander and Captain, but it was still strange being in them for the first time since they'd joined the Resistance.

"I've always thought you looked handsome in your dress uniform," Vara mentioned offhandedly, drawing herself to her full height as well, a smirk on her face. Poe glanced at her as the elevator doors opened, a little surprised and a little intrigued all at once. Their escorts marched them forward and down a hallway, passing through a security gate with a code punched in by the lead escort. Vara willed herself to be calm, her heart wanting to pound through her chest. This mission wasn't dangerous, not even close to some of the other things they had done, but something about this whole situation made her nervous. Maybe it was just because she had never done anything like an interrogation before, but either way, she was not comfortable.

"Relax, Vara," Poe whispered as they approached the room. "We'll be fine."

The Chiss escort, armed with a blaster, unlocked the door and checked inside. Turning back to the officers, he waved Poe and Vara inside, following them and shutting the door behind. The room was a stark white with a clear barrier splitting the whole room down the middle. Ro-Kiintor sat on the opposite side, handcuffed to a small table that was nailed to the floor. He looked haggard, much different from the press photos that the officers had studied before they had stolen his ship. He looked haggard and angry.

"You can go," Poe said to the escort. "He's not a physical threat. And neither are we."

The Chiss said something over his radio, deliberating, before narrowing his red eyes. "There's a panic button on the wall next to the door," he said, slowly, suspicious. Then they were alone with Ro-Kiintor.

"Good," Poe said, walking calmly forward and sitting at the table facing the prisoner. "I just didn't want them blabbing to their coworkers about our topic of conversation."

"Let me guess," Ro-Kiintor replied. "My ship. Why it was stolen by gangsters. More questions about the First Order, perhaps?"

"Oh, no, not right away," Vara said, following Poe and taking over. She and Poe had talked about this at length on the journey there, deliberating whether it was the best course of action. If there was any protest from the New Republic, they could always call it a bluff to get him to talk. "No, we know all about your ship. We were the ones who took it."

The ex-senator looked stunned for a very brief moment before regaining his poker face and letting out a barking laugh. "The Irving Boys were the ones who stole my ship. They were very clear about that."

"You're smarter than that," Vara intoned. "The attack was swift and coordinated. You know the Irving Boys couldn't really pull something like that off. Especially with three small, old Headhunters."

Ro-Kiintor paused. Vara could see that he was thinking about it, deliberating whether to believe them or not.

Poe cleared his throat. "There were three of you on that ship at the time. You pushed your servant and pilot out of your way to get to the escape pods first, and you almost triggered the release before your servant was able to board it."

"He was...I didn't…" Ro-Kiintor stared at them for a moment, thinking. "So it was the New Republic. An act of treason against your Senate."

"Do not speak to us about treason." Vara cut him off, her voice level. "One could say you had a direct hand in the destruction of the Hosnian system."

The ex-senator fell silent. He looked like a child they had just chastised, embarrassed and ashamed. He looked away from them for the first time since they'd entered the room.

"So you regret it," Poe said, softer now. "Help us finish them off. You know the base they built is destroyed, but they're hiding out somewhere else. We need any information you have."

"You know I can't give it to you. They'll get to me, even in here," he growled.

"And you think rotting in here is better?" Vara replied. "Do something good for the Republic that you served once upon a time. Begin to redeem yourself."

"I cannot," he snarled. "Not after what I have done."

"And what, in particular, is that?" she asked.

The man on the other side of the room hesitated again. Vara didn't want to push him too hard, but she could see that he was starting to fold, even if just a little.

"Look," she said, leaning forward a little. "I know when secrets need to be kept. There's a time for that. Now is not that time. We've done some damage to the First Order, but they're not finished. If we can't finish them off, they'll keep coming back, just like they did from the remnants of the Empire. You could be a resource for us. You could help us. If you don't, you know how they tie up loose ends. Until they're gone, you'll never be able to stop looking over your shoulder, even in here." She stared him down, hoping he'd realize just how important this was. "So, for your sake and ours, we need a few pieces of information from you."

The man sat back, weighing his options. He looked from Vara to Poe and back, assessing. Vara pushed away her frustration and focused on him, waiting.

"Either way, they will kill me. If I say anything, if I say nothing, I'm dead."

"Not if we get to them before they knew it was you," Poe suggested. "We know they want to control the Unknown Regions. We can only assume their base is somewhere out there. We could just get lucky and find it, you know."

"Ha!" Ro-Kiintor scoffed. "They will never believe that."

"We can be surprisingly persuasive," Vara said, sitting back in her chair and folding her arms. "We know there were transmissions made to your ship, the Hevurion Grace, from their base planet before they transferred over to the Starkiller Base. We have record of them, but not where they were from," she prompted.

"Go find it yourself," Ro-Kiintor spat.

Poe and Vara sat quietly, waiting. He had to give it to them himself, not be bullied into it. If they pressured him too hard, he could give them some random place just to get them off of his back. If they didn't push hard enough, he would never give in. The man looked back and forth between them, just like he was before. They looked back, holding his gaze, staring him down.

"Fine," the ex-senator grumbled. "It's called Rakata Prime. That's all I'm giving you."

"Thank you," Poe said. "We appreciate that. Anything else you'd like to say? What they have on the planet, who's in charge, maybe some more on the Knights of Ren?"

"The who? No, no more. You have enough." The man looked resigned. "I can't believe two hooligans stole my yacht. You'll pay for that,"

"Hooligans," Vara sighed, looking to Poe. "Am I imagining that he said that lovingly?"

"I believe so, yes." It was clear that they weren't going to get any more out of him. "I think we're done here." Poe stood up and knocked on the door, Vara close behind. The Chiss opened it, but before Vara left, she turned back to the Senator.

"You've started to redeem yourself, you know. Thank you."

He waved his hand at her, refusing to look. She smiled a little anyways, and followed Poe out into the hallway. Two of the human escorts took them back to the elevator and it started downwards. Poe pulled a small datapad from his pocket and plugged in the name 'Rakata Prime.'

"Anything?"

"A little. I kind of want to go check it out before we head back -"

"No," Vara cut him off. "No way. We're taking this back to the General and going from there. We are not going there ourselves, especially in a VCX-100."

"They wouldn't be expecting us," he said. "And if word gets out that he said anything, they could be ready."

"Poe," she grumbled, glancing briefly at their escorts. This was probably the safest place to talk besides their own quarters or on the ship, but she still hesitated for some unknown reason. "We'll talk on the ship, okay?" She also felt very unnerved that there had been a Chiss working in the prison. Chiss were notorious for never leaving their home system, and when they did, they did so for power. She had read that in the Clone Wars, a Chiss had served Count Dooku as his dark acolyte, and another group of Chiss mercenaries had been hired by Empire-loyal Senator during the Galactic Civil War. There were even rumors about a Chiss being the only non-human to ever reach rank in the Emperor's army - rumors that whispered of a Grand Admiral that had hidden in the shadows of the Empire. Vara shook her head, trying to put those thoughts aside until they could speak in private. "I'm glad we were able to get to him, even though I had to be the villain."

"Yeah, did you like that? The 'good cop, bad cop' gig got him." Poe looked slightly proud. "And I will say, you came across as very confident and slightly arrogant. That was new."

"Savor that. It doesn't happen often," she said, smiling.

"Trust me, I've got that image saved," Poe replied, tapping his head.

The elevator glided to a stop, and the escorts walked them out of the building and to the transport that was waiting. Poe and Vara got in and were quiet the rest of the ride back to the hangar where their ship was waiting. As soon as they entered the VCX-100, Vara spoke.

"Poe, I really do not feel good about going to find Rakata Prime. That Chiss...nothing good ever comes to the Republic when there is a Chiss involved."

"Don't generalize, Vara. I've heard the same stories as you have, and I've never heard of one on our side either, but there's always a first time."

"It wasn't just that, it was him. Suspicious of leaving us alone, the way he watched us...it felt off. I think we need to get back to D'Qar immediately."

Poe looked at her, almost studiously. "I trust you. We'll go back." He headed up to the pilot's seat and flipped on the communication systems, beginning to prime the ship. "You know, you should speak to the General about the Force. You might be sensitive to it. She could teach you some things."

Vara thought about it as she sat next to him. "Hmm," she hummed. "What would I say? I wouldn't...wouldn't know what to do with that."

"She would. She doesn't use in front of any of us, but I've heard she's talented with it."

"When we have time," Vara said, reaching forward and priming the ignition before he could.

"So, in about a year, right?" Poe joked.

"Sounds about right. Ready to get out of here?"

"Very."

* * *

In the interrogation room, the Chiss escort tapped a few invisible buttons on the wall and the barrier between the tables dropped away. He disconnected the ex-senator from his table and stood him up.

"You spoke too much to them."

The man waved his hand dismissively. "I did no such thing."

"They will find the base."

"I had to give them something so they would give up. Call the Clawdite. I don't remember his name, but you know of whom I speak. He'll follow them off the planet and have them dead before they get back to the Ileenium system." He followed the Chiss obediently out of the interrogation room and back to his highest-security cell...not that mattered very much. He had everything he needed.


End file.
